The Journey To Erebor
by Moongirl22
Summary: So what if there was another member of the company of Thorin Oakensheild. What if it was a woman and she and Fili were childhood sweethearts? Find out if love can bloom on the road to Erebor when these two meet again. Hope you enjoy please leave me a review if you enjoyed what you read. (rated M for violence and sexual content)
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I know it's been a long time since I've started any new stories. I love the hobbit and lord of the rings and I finally got inspired to write a fanfic for it. This is going to be based off the movie the hobbit not the book fair warning to everyone. There will be a few changes to events that happen in the movie just because of how I felt about them but hey that's the fun of fanfic. The story will be flipping back and forth between Ingrid, my oc, and Fili's point of views. **

** Also new update. I'm currently going through and reediting and adding some scenes so if things seem to jump a little between chapter it just means I haven't gotten to the next chapter. Hope you enjoy and leave a review if you did :) **

Ingrid paused in front of the next hobbit hole she came across, on the door she saw the small G glowing against the green paint on the door, which meant that this was Bag End. This was place where Gandalf had said they would find their burglar. She adjusted her pack and climbed that short walk way to the large circular door. From inside she could already hear a fair amount of commotion and assumed some of the company had already arrived. Ingrid had been traveling from her home in the Blue Mountains to answer the call. It was her duty to her family and her kin to join the company of Thorin Oakenshield. She grabbed the string that was attached to the door bell and gave it a few firm pulls. The bell rang softly as Ingrid waited for someone to answer the door she gazed out across the Shire. Never in her life had she seen a place like this. It was all soft rolling hills and little river, to here it seemed as good as any place to live. Ingrid couldn't help but enjoy the little hobbit holes that dotted the hill sides. Something about them reminded her of her own people though it was still vastly different. Her thoughts turned to her family, of the mother and father she had left behind and her three younger sisters. Ingrid was pulled from her thoughts when a scuffling sound came from behind the door. A moment later it was pulled open to revile a rather frazzled looking hobbit who was still wearing a dressing gown. He stood only half a head shorter than Ingrid with a mass of brown curls and big pale green eyes. Ingrid straightened up and announced herself,

"Ingrid at your service." She bowed deep at the waist. When she straightened back up the Halfling looked as if he was about to fall over at the sight of her. Ingrid knew little, and even less of hobbits and didn't know exactly how to handle the situation. The hobbit stood with an arm outstretched across the door way as if to try and keep her out. He gave her a closer look then asked rather bluntly,

"Are, are you a woman?" Ingrid flipped her long auburn braid over her shoulder and placed a hand on her hip. It was a normal question and one she was all too familiar with. Ingrid wore men's clothing thick boots, trousers, a tunic, a long thick coat and a heavy belt about her waist which held her sword and dagger. It didn't help that most people would mistake dwarf maids for dwarf men all the time.

"Why yes I am Master Baggins." Just at the moment Kili crossed the entrance hall with a flagon of ale in his hand. He looked over at the door way to see who was there and halted dead in his tracks at the sight of her.

"Ingrid?" He paused and gave her a questionable look. "Ingrid!" He shouted, throwing his arms into the air sloshing ale onto the floor. The hobbit flabbergasted dropped his arms and Ingrid took the opportunity to barrel in past him and embraced her childhood friend. She dropped her pack on the floor as she entered glad to be rid of the weight. Ingrid was also glad to have found the right hobbit hole, after weeks on the road it was good to see other dwarves and be amongst her kin again. Ingrid smiled at her childhood friend embracing him tightly. It had been nearly thirty years since she had last seen either Fili or Kili. She pulled away from Kili then grabbed ahold of his chin to get a better look at him.

"By Durins' beard, look at you." She said, Kili had grown up into a handsome young dwarf. His one flaw though was that he only had a ragged bit of stubble to decorate his chin instead of a full beard.

"Last time I saw you, you were just a little runt trying to grow your first bread. Still having some trouble with that I see." Ingrid gave him a light smack on the jaw. He had always been like a little brother to her and she would try and get every jest in that she could after all she had thirty years of them to make up for. Kili blushed at her remark as the hobbit talked at them, not that they cared to listen. Kili then got a wicked look in his eyes let go of her and yelled back into the room he had come from.

"Fili come out here and see who just crashed the company." She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, it was her turn to blush. During the trip to the shire she had been preparing herself to see Fíli again. She could still remember the last time they had seen each other. They had both been only fifty, children really, it was the day her family was going to move father into the Blue Mountains. She and Fili had slipped away behind the smithy for a few moments alone. Ingrid still remembered the smell of the fires, the secret promises, the rushed kiss. They had been two children rushed into the romance of love but now they were two different people and she had no idea if the dwarf that was about to come through the arch way was the same boy she had missed all these years. Kili was one of the few who knew of their former relationship and he seemed to be relishing in the idea of embarrassing Ingrid. She made note that she would have to get him back for this.

Fili came around the corner a moment later. Having heard his brother yell he was curious as to who it was that had just joined them in Bag End. When he saw the dwarf standing next to his brother he smiled broadened. It had been years since he had seen Ingrid and he couldn't help but marvel how she had changed. Just from looking at her he could tell she wasn't the same awkward girl he had watched ride away all those years ago, she was a true woman now. Her hair was the same auburn red tightly braided down her back and the same emerald green eyes. She lacked any facial hair which was uncommon among even female dwarfs but not unheard of, his brother was proof enough of that. He also couldn't help but notice how she had filled out in the years that had passed either, with a full bust and round hips. Fili also noted the way she held herself, it was strong, a powerful stance, the stance of a warrior. She was still as lovely to him as the day she had left, but those years apart had no doubt changed her as much as they had changed him. A small worry began to crawl forward in his mind, _what if she's married or a least intended_. Most dwarf maids of her ages and especially one as attractive as her would have had hundreds of suitors asking for her hand. Ingrid would have her pick of the litter and a promise whispered in the woods as a child would mean little to nothing next to a strong dwarf willing to marry her then and there. All the same he reached out his hand and she took it slamming a shoulder into his, the same way they had when they were little, it was as if no time had passed at all.

"It's good to see you, Ingrid." He said with a smile, Fili felt the sting in his shoulder from where she had hit him. _She's strong _he thought. She met his gaze and smiled back.

"It's good to see you too." She let go of his hand as Kili pushed pass them back into the dining room. Fili slapped a hand on her shoulder,

"Come on give us a hand moving some chairs in or we'll never fit everyone in here." She gave him another quick smile and what he thought was a wink before disappearing into the dining room. _Was that a wink? No, you're just imagining things. _Ingrid was greeted warmly by Balin and Dwalin. It wasn't much longer till the doorbell rang again. This time however it was Óin, Glóin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Ori, Dori, and Nori who all came crashing into Bag End with Gandalf bringing up the rear. That made up everyone who was going to be in the company except for Thorin who was attending a meeting of the seven dwarf families, so it was to be expected that he would be late. From that point on Bag End was an explosion of chaos. Food was flying out of the pantry, ale was flowing and everyone was laughing, joking and celebrating. At the point when all the food had been drug out of the pantry all thirteen dwarves and Gandalf piled into the dining room. Ale was passed around and the company dug in, food went flying across the table as the dwarves indulged in the hobbit fine fare. Ingrid was sitting between Ori and Dori and was directly across from Fili. Every now and then Fili would catch Ingrid looking at him, though he was sneaking as many glances at her as he could. Finally he decided to challenge her to a drinking match. _Let's see how well she can hold her liquor_,

"Ingrid let's see if you can keep up." Fili said proudly. He lifted his mug of ale and the gauntlet was thrown. Ingrid was only too happy to oblige, this wasn't the first time she had been challenged and it was certainly not going to be the last. Ingrid had been raised to do what most male dwarves did and running with the boys meant learning to keep your ale down. She matched him drink for drink but five pints in the ale had run dry partially thanks to their own match and the drinking of the others as well.

"I guess we'll just have to call it a draw for now." She yelled across the table just so he could hear her. He smiled back,

"For now." They laughed and turned their attention back to their meals. Ingrid had been afraid that the other members of the company would treat her differently because she was a maiden but they seemed to be glad to have her. They joked and talked with her as much as any other member. She was glad to feel included and not cast out like she had been so many times before. The food continued to vanish from the table as a frustrated Bilbo kept fliting in and out of the already crammed room. Soon enough all the food was gone. Ingrid stood up to stretch out her sore muscles, after walking all day it would be nice to sleep in a warm house. The last warm bed she had seen was at an inn almost a week ago. The company continued to sing and joke until there came a loud knocking at the door and all fell silent. Thorin had arrived, Ingrid felt nervous just at the thought. While the rest of the company may have been willing to accept her in with no reason to, Thorin was another matter entirely. Ingrid had known him only briefly as a child and had been raised on the stories of his great deeds. She knew that she would need to prove herself to him no matter what it took. _When I prove myself to him I'll know then that I do truly belong with the company. _ Ingrid had been longing for the chance to prove to the world and herself that she was a real dwarven warrior.


	2. Chapter 2

Ingrid stood with the rest of the company and moved towards the door. Bilbo reached the door first and pulled it open. The great circle swung open with ease and without stood Thorin Oakenshield. She felt the breath catch in her chest, it had been years since she had last seen him and he had lost none of his prowess in that time. Ingrid knew in her heart that she stood before a true king. The dwarf king was still very handsome man with long black hair streaked with grey, a short cropped black beard and piercing blue eyes. _I wonder why he never married. _Thorin must have had woman throwing themselves at him over the years but when your heart is filled with anger, love is hard to let in. She had also heard old rumors that Thorin had once been engaged but his betrothed was killed by Smaug. Whether the rumors were true or not, Ingrid could not say and she had no intention of asking Thorin Oakensheild such a personal question. Thorin unhooked his cloak and surveyed the company,

"Gandalf, I thought you said this place would be easy to find. I got lost, twice. And would have never found it if not for that mark on the door." The little hobbit ruffled at the remark,

"There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." Before the hobbit could get out to the door to inspect it Gandalf moved into his path.

"Yes, there is. I put it there myself." Gandalf said calmly. Bilbo continued to fret over the door as Thorin greeted his nephews and each member of the company. Ingrid stood in silence waiting for him to reach her. He greeted the members warmly or as warmly as was possible for Thorin to. A part of her began to panic, it was almost unheard of for female dwarves to join quests such as this, but she had no brothers to take up the call and her father could not join due to a mining accident that had left him lame many years ago. So the duty fell to her. When Thorin turned his deep blue gaze on her she all but stopped breathing he seemed to be looking right through her to her core, judging her worth.

"I do not recognize you." He said coolly. Ingrid stood straight and spoke,

"My father is Ingemar son of Ingvar. He could not come himself and I have no brothers to answer to the call. So I have come to take his place." Thorin eyed her carefully. Ingrid would not back down now, her stubbornness had won out over her fear and she would not be moved. _I will prove myself to you. _Thorin looked her over for several moments before saying,

"Very well." Seemingly satisfied with Ingrid he rounded on Bilbo. He questioned the hobbit as to his expertise in burglary and his weapon of choice. All the answers the Halfling gave brought laughs from the company. _He is too gentle for this quest._ Ingrid couldn't help but think, even her youngest sister Inga, who was only fifty, could take him in a brawl and Inga was hardly trained to fight at all. A gentle soul like Bilbo's had no place on the road, living day to day, fighting whatever foe came at them. Ingrid did not think that this hobbit would survive the journey. Even Thorin shook his head in disbelief that this was the person, of all the peoples of middle earth, which Gandalf had chosen. With that matter settled for the moment the company returned to discuss the plan to journey to Erebor. Thorin told everyone what had happened at the meeting of the seven families and that we were alone but not without reason. The quest was for the dwarves of Erebor and for them alone. The next problem to be faced, besides the dragon, getting into Erebor the front gates had been sealed and there was no other way into the mountain, or so they thought. The wizard then produced a key that was meant opened a hidden door to the lower halls of Erebor. The map that was with the key still held secrets that the wizard could not make out. He knew though that the door could only be opened under specific conditions. What those conditions were though no one knew. At that moment it felt to Ingrid as though the quest had truly begun. They had the company, their leader, a wizard, and a way into Erebor, only one thing that remained was their burglar. What hopes they had of Bilbo joining the quest were soon dashed when the hobbit proceeded to fall unconscious after reading the contract, not that Bofur helped the situation. Without a burglar, even one as unlikely as Bilbo, the company didn't have much of a chance. There was still a small bit of hope left, now that they had a way into the mountain the opportunity could not be missed. Gandalf reassured them that Bilbo would join the company in the end but that was hard to believe after watching the Halfling collapse from just reading about a dragon.

Later that night Ingrid walked out of Bag End and into the gardens for a moment of fresh air. The company had settled down for the night and it wouldn't be long before everyone was asleep. Dawn would bring them to the beginning of their journey. A journey, Ingrid knew would define the rest of her life. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would be doing this. Ingrid had many worries for what the future would bring. There was bound to be dangers on the road and though she was a good fighter she wondered how she would measure up against the others in the company. She pondered what the future would bring as she reflected on Bilbo.

_How in Durin's name is he going to face a real dragon? He can't even read about one without fainting. I know Gandalf has faith in him but how can he do this? _She became more forlorn as she thought about the hobbit joining the company. _What right does he have to join this quest? What right do I have to join this quest? _Ingrid pressed her face into her palm in frustrations. _I haven't fought in any great battles or even traveled far beyond the Blue Mountains. Father I know that you trained me for a quest like this but I don't know if I can do it. I don't know if I can prove myself to Thorin, if I can show him I deserve to be here as much as any other. _ She let out a long sigh as she looked out across the Shire. Ingrid heard foot steps behind her.

"Ingrid?" She turned at the sound of Fili's voice. He was walking towards her along the path from the side door.

"Oh Fili…It's you…What are you doing out here?" She asked halfheartedly, her mind was still wrestling with whether or not she truly deserved to be a part of the company.

"I came out here looking for you. Everyone is about to turn in for the night." Ingrid hardly heard him. It was only when he placed a hand on her shoulder that she woke from her toiling.

"Ingrid? What's wrong?" Fili's hand lingered on her shoulder to which she shrugged away.

"It's nothing…" Fili stepped up next to her trying to make her meet his gaze.

"It's been over twenty years since I last saw you and you still can't lie to save your life." Ingrid had to crack a smile at that. Fili placed his hand back on her shoulder and spoke, "Ingrid you can talk to me. What's bothering you?" Ingrid let out a sigh and shook her head brushing his hand from her shoulder.

"It doesn't matter. It's not something that you could fix anyway." Ingrid continued to gaze out over the Shire as Fili stood beside her in silence. Time seemed to creep past as the tension between them began to mount. She couldn't stand this tension much longer, in the silence that the two shared her mind raced. The idea of the possibility of rekindling their former childhood romance terrified her. Fili had not been the first boy to show interest in her but he was the only who hadn't turned tail and ran when he found out that she was trained to do man's work. This mere thought disgusted and horrified most other boys in the village but not Fili, he saw more to her. Her sister Ingeborg ,now she had always been the one to flirt shamelessly with the boys in the village and had them trailing after her like love sick pups. Ingrid was more likely to knock one on their ass than accept a romantic advance, but Fili, he made her feel differently. Even after all these years he could still make her feel off balance. She snuck a quick glance at him feeling her cheeks flush. He had grown into quit a handsome dwarf with his golden hair perfectly braided and his short cropped bread and braided mustache. Ingrid cursed herself for acting like some love struck maiden, she was a warrior, a black smith, the son her father never had, and she didn't swoon over men like other maids would. It was Fili who finally broke the silence between them.

"I can't believe this quest is really happening." Ingrid swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.

"All my life Thorin and my mother have told me stories about Erebor but to actually think of seeing it with my own eyes is almost unbelievable."

"Yes it really is." Ingrid added in a small voice.

"To see it with you will make it even more memorable." Ingrid's head snapped towards Fili at the statement but he didn't stop there. "Ingrid I know that this might sound absurd but I Still care for you and even after twenty years still have feelings for you, there's just something about that never left me." Ingrid stepped back defensively.

"Fili stop we can't do this. Not here, not now." Fili took a step forward drawing nearer to her with each step.

"Why not? What other time would we do this?" Ingrid continued to retreat her heart was pounding in her chest as she raced for the right words.

"I can't worry about these feelings for you from a childhood romance long gone. The quest and the company is all I have time for. You know that it's unheard of for a woman to join a company such as this. Right now I have to prove myself to Thorin I have to show him that I'm worthy of being here and standing by his side in a real battle." Fili reached a hand out to touch her cheek and for a moment Ingrid wanted to give in, she wanted to feel his fingertips across her skin to feel like the maid she was, but then the warrior she had trained to be took back over and she pulled away.

"Then look me in the eye and tell me. Tell me you love another and are promised to be married or that your feelings have faded away. Tell me you don't feel anything for me and I will let it go." She thought she could hear a hurt in voice. A pain that told her that Fili didn't want to hear her say those words. Ingrid looked deep into Fili's eyes, a part of her wanted to tell him that there was nothing but she knew that would be a lie. She knew that the wiser path to choose would be the one that destroyed their chance of ever being together; But a small part of her still clung to the boy who had whispered promises to her and stolen sweet kisses. But before here stood a new man, a man that was nothing like the boy she had loved so many years ago. She had no idea of whether he has was a better or worse man then the boy she had remembered so many years ago. Ingrid turned away from Fili unable to answer and began to walk back towards bag end. She had only gone a few paces when Fili grabbed her hand and pulled her back around. Before she had time to react he had one hand on the small of her back and the other on her cheek and his lips were pressed against hers. It was not a sweet or tender kiss like they had shared as children but one that was bitter and full of longing. Once again Ingrid felt the urge to surrender to him but the warrior within her was stronger. She slammed her hands against his chest pushing him away, anger was boiling inside her now.

"How dare you." She growled. "Just after I told you that I can't worry about my feelings right now you go ahead and do something like that?" Fili looked surprised by her anger.

"I thought that you…" Ingrid cut him off.

"That I was some doe eyed maid that you could sweep off her feet with one kiss? I may still have feelings for you Fili but I don't know you anymore and you don't know me. It's been twenty years! We've both grown up we've both changed and you think that one little kiss is going to put everything back to the way it was?" He didn't respond but beside the look of shock on his face Ingrid thought he looked almost impressed.

"You're right." It was Ingrid's turn to be surprised. "We aren't the same as we were back then but that doesn't mean that I want to give up the way I feel. If anything you've just given me a reason to prove myself to you. You may not be the same girl who I watched ride away all those years ago but you have turned into one amazing woman." Ingrid was taken aback by his words. She didn't know what to say and so she turned around and headed back towards bag end. What she had said in her anger raced around in her mind and before she was too far away she stopped and looked back at Fili.

"I still remember the promise that we made to each other all those years ago, I never forgot." With that Ingrid turned and headed back into bag end trying to wrap her mind around the emotions that were ripping though her.


	3. Chapter 3

It was just before dawn when Ingrid awoke. She had slept on the floor near the hearth and while it wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep it was better than being outside in the cold. Ingrid stood up stretched out her limbs and straightened out her clothes. Several other members of the company were already up, including Gandalf. With hardly a sound all fourteen dwarves gathered up their things and left Bag End. During the packing Ingrid couldn't stop looking over at Fili and each time their eyes met she looked away. She could still feel his kiss on her lips and the events of last night made her blush, but she'd be shaken from her inner thoughts quickly. She had no time to sit around and think about that it she had to keep her mind on the quest. But even so her mind wondered as she gathered her things.

By the age of fifteen her father began to train her in swordsmanship, it had been just after the birth of her second sister Ingvildr. Her father Ingemar had lost patience for her mother, Siv, to give birth to a son and so he had decided to break tradition and train Ingrid his first born daughter. She remembered the first time her father had placed a wooden sword in her hand and showed her how to stand properly. The weight of it at the time had felt so weird in her hands but she knew that this was what she was destined for, to wield a sword like the great dwarfs' she had hear of in stories. From that moment on the course of her life had been forever changed. Ingrid reflected on the night before thinking of how harsh she had been with Fili and how most woman would have handled the situation. Any other woman would have swooned and fell into the dwarf princes open arms but that just wasn't her. She thought about her sister Ingeborg and how even from a young age could make boys fall over themselves for her. Ingeborg knew her way around a dwarfs head better than Ingrid could ever hope. There had been more than one instance when Ingrid had caught Ingeborg with some boy and processed to chase him off hammer in hand. Ingrid couldn't help but smile at the memories as she slung her sword and bow across her shoulders and made ready for the beginning of the journey. The company departed Bag End and made their way down to the main market of Hobbiton to buy their supplies. Glóin did most of the bartering and it wasn't long before they had seventeen ponies and supplies for the next few months. Ingrid was glad that they would be riding, the saddle soars she was going to get would be unpleasant but they beat having to carry their supplies. As the company loaded up Bofur posed and interesting question.

"Do you think the hobbit will come?" Most of the company laughed and only a few gave a shrug of maybe. Bilbo had been sound asleep when they left Bag End and would have to hurry if he wanted to catch the company.

"Well would any of you lads like to put some silver on that?" Glóin prompted inquisitively. Most of the company beat against Bilbo showing up. Fili walked over to Ingrid after he placed his beat of three silver pieces against Bilbo.

"You don't think he'll come?" She asked, there was no reason not to talk to him. Though the previous night might have gone the way it did, she still wanted to reconnect with her childhood friend. Fili nodded and spoke,

"You saw him. There's no way that he'll show." Just to have a little fun Ingrid changed her mind on the bet.

"Fine then I'll wager three silvers that he does." Fili looked shocked at her bet but then smiled. It was and expression she had seen many times when they were young. Most of the time it was when Fili or Kili had challenged her to do something obviously stupid, but her pride had made her follow through. This would often end with her going home with several new cuts and bruises.

"Very well if you feel like wasting good silver on a losing bet you're more than welcome too." _Now Bilbo just needs to show up_, Ingrid thought. She could see the look on Fili's face as she relieved him of his silver. The company mounted up and road out of Hobbiton towards Bree and towards the great east road that would take them to Erebor. Ingrid was glad to be riding again, the sure footed ponies would make their travels far easier and swifter.

It was near mid-day when the hobbit appeared contract signed and in hand. Most of the company was surprised that he had shown up at all, even the ones that had bet on him to seemed at least a little surprised. As Balin checked over the contract Ingrid shot Fili a sly smile which only made him scowl at her in mocking manner. It reminded her of when they were children, he would pull her hair and run, and in return she would steal his practice sword and make him chase her around the village. In the end she would always give back his sword and he would apologize for pulling her hair, though that rarely happened without some intervention of their mothers. She thought about their childhood and how they had grown up together. They had played as children together, and as they grew older spared with each other. They had always been closely matched in their skill with swords but Ingrid had always been able to beat Fili at archery which he was atrocious at. Ingrid was pulled from her memories when Glóin tossed her a purse that clinked softly with the sound of the silver she had won. Ingrid looked at the hobbit who did not seem at all thrilled to be riding a pony and thought, _perhaps there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye._

Three days into the journey they had crossed beyond of the boarders of the shire. It was well past sun down and Fili and Kili were standing watch. It was still summer then, so night wasn't too cold but it was tedious to sit and wait for an enemy that may or may not be coming. It also seemed highly unlikely that they would be attacked while so close to the Shire. As far as they knew the most dangerous thing that lived in the forests was a fox or two. Fili and Kili sat on a fallen log about twenty yards from the edge of the camp. Far enough away to see any enemy coming before it was too late but still close enough that a yell would rouse the camp. As Fili honed the edge of one of his daggers he began thinking about the journey ahead and as he did Ingrid seemed to find her way back into his mind. Over the past few days he could she how she had changed. Life had hardened her in many ways not that he was surprised by that. She was a woman in a man's world she would have had to grow hard to survive. But, that still seemed to draw him to her. He liked that she was strong and independent, that she could handle herself and didn't have to rely on others around her for aid yet she was still kind and caring. She could joke and help anyone in need. Everything that she was only made him want to be with her more. She was beautiful, fierce, kind and brave and more than he had ever dreamed she would become. At that moment there was a sound of footsteps from behind them, Fili was shaken from his thoughts as he and Kili both turned to see Ingrid coming from the camp. She walked up and placed a hand on Kili's shoulder.

"Why don't you go get some rest? I'll stay here with Fili." Kili looked to Fili who returned a nod. Fili had wanted to get some time alone with Ingrid and now was as good a time as any. Kili shot him a look that said make sure that you actually keep on watch. Fili gave his brother a serious look and then turned back to Ingrid who was settling down onto the log next to him. They sat there for a moment in silence. Fili continued to hone his dagger and had no idea what to say. They hadn't had a chance to really talk since Bag End at least not one without several pairs of ears listening. Even talking around Óin was a risk, the old dwarf always seemed to hear more than he let on.

"What do you think it will be like?" She asked breaking the silence, Fili gave her a puzzled look as he sheathed his dagger. "Erebor." The word sounded like a mix between a pray and an enchantment. He sat back for a moment and thought, _I don't know. _The only things he knew of the lonely mountain were from what Thorin and his mother had told him and what he had learned through study. It was one thing to read and be told about a place but it was another thing entirely to see it for yourself. Fili would often wonder what his life would have been like if Smaug had never attacked Erebor, to have grown up under the mountain in the strong hold of his people, to be raised as a true prince.

"I've dreamt about it for many years, this place that is like no other in this world; like none I've ever seen in my life. A place filled with golden halls and the sound of drawf happily working throughout its caverns. The stories my uncle and mother told me were so wonderers That there's a chances finally of taking it back and someday…" He trailed off. Fili knew what someday would bring, someday he would rule under the mountain and take up the crown of his forefathers. Part of that thought terrified him. All his life he had been taught that he was Thorin's heir and that one day he may rule under the mountain but there was a half a world and a dragon that stood between him and that future. _King Fili_, the title sounded so strange to him. It belonged to his uncle, _King Thorin Oakenshield _that sounded far more natural to him than his own name.

"Fili what's wrong." Ingrid asked softly. He snapped out of his thoughts and back to the present. Fili looked at Ingrid and gave her a half smile,

"Nothing, just thinking about the future." Fili decided to change the subject not wanting to dwell on what might be. "So how are your sisters?" It seemed only appropriate to ask about her sisters seeing as she had three of them. Having one girl in three children was common enough among dwarves but a family with nothing but girls was a rare thing indeed. Fili sometimes wondered what it would be like to have a sister. _She'd be like Mother, strong, willful, and beautiful._ Another part of him was glad he didn't, he could only imagine what it would be like to watch some dwarf try and court his sister. Likely as not he would have knocked the block off who ever tried anything with her. He often wondered what his family would have been like if his father had survived. How different he would be being raised by Vili instead of Thorin. Ingrid let out a laugh.

"You still remember them."

"Yes, weren't they Ingeborg, Ingvildr, and Inga." This made her smile. He loved it when she smiled it made her whole face light up brighter than the sun. Fili was also glad that he was able to remember all of their names after twenty years.

"Yes that's them. Well Ingeborg has all the boys trailing after her. I've had to keep chasing them off with a hammer but they were too thick headed and would come back for more. Ingvildr is still wild always running off into trouble, Mother says she's never going to settle down at this rate. And little Inga, well she just turned fifty and is a quiet as a lamb. I do miss them." There was a sadness in her eyes that Fili could understand. He had never been away from Kili for more than a few days a most. From the time they had been little one was never far from the other. Not being near Kili, not being able to be there to protect him, Fili didn't want to think about that. Mahal only knew what kind of trouble Kili would get into if Fili wasn't there to pull him out of it, though in their past it was usually Fili getting Kili into trouble in the first place. Fili reached out and placed a hand on Ingrid's shoulder.

"Don't worry they'll be fine. And soon enough they'll be on their way to Erebor to join their sister one of the fourteen who retook our homeland from Smaug." He said with a flourish. Ingrid gave him a half smile and lightly placed one hand on his knee.

"Thank you." She said, "You've grown up a lot Fili, and someday you are going to make a wonderful king." Again that sounded so foreign to him but hearing it from Ingrid made him feel reassured. Maybe the future would be a bright one but for now all he needed to do was take it one day at a time. And, with Kili and Ingrid at his side and Thorin to follow taking down a dragon seemed to be just a fraction easier than it had the day before. Ingrid stayed with Fili through the rest of the night. It was one of the best night's Fili had had in a long time and it made guard duty far more bearable than it normally was. When Nori and Ori came to relieve them of their watch a part of Fili was disappointed that his time with Ingrid had come to a close but now he felt that he had gotten to know her a little bit more.

It was three days later and the company had moved up into the Weather Hills continuing they journey east. The company had settled down for the night along a cliff side. Bombur was snoring loudly Ingrid sat by the fire fletching a few new arrows. She didn't know when the next chance she would get to craft new arrows would be and she would need as many as she could make. Fili and Kili were also awake keeping watch by the fire. Fili smoked his pipe while Kili whittled idly. Bilbo stood up abruptly, obviously woken by Bombur's drowning. She smiled to herself as she trimmed the feather that she had just fitted to the shaft of the new arrow. Just then a screech pierced the night that made her skin crawl. Bilbo looked about franticly.

"What was that?" He asked in a panicked voice. Fili and Kili looked at each other then to Bilbo.

"Orcs." Kili said in a dark whisper.

"Orcs?!" Bilbo said rather loudly. Thorin opened his eyes growing tense at the mention of orcs.

"There'll be dozens of them out there. The low lands are crawling with them." Fili told the already frazzled hobbit.

"They strike in the wee hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet no screams. Just lots of blood." Kili continued. Bilbo looked even more panicked as Fili and Kili both cracked smiles and chuckled. Ingrid felt a spark of anger at their laughter.

"You think that's funny?" Thorin said in an icy tone. "You think a night raid by orc's is a joke?"

"We didn't mean anything by it." Kili said quietly obviously deflated by Thorin's scolding.

"No you didn't." Thorin marched off alone and Ingrid could only agree with him. Balin walked over a moment later to reassure Fili and Kili not to worry. He began to tell the story of the battle of Moria. Ingrid knew the story well, her father had been there. He wasn't much more than a boy at the time and was lucky to have survived. As Balin spoke to them Ingrid's mind turned to another night almost ten years before.

She had just come of age and had taken on her first assignment acting as an escort to several merchant men. Of course she hadn't been alone two other more senior dwarves, Alvis and Erlend, had taken up the contract with her. They were two friends she had grown close to; in totally they numbered seven, three dwarves and four men. They had been traveling along the main road for around five days and nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Ingrid had been sitting by the fire honing her blade as Alvis cracked jokes to the men they were escorting. She was excited to be on her first real contracted assignment, to have a chance to prove herself to her father when it happened. An orc on the back of a warg leapt from the bushes and killed one of the merchants, the warg ripping out his throat in one fell slash. Alvis and Erlend both had their swords out in a moment and Ingrid was on her feet as two more orcs on wargs came out of the forest. The men scrambled for cover as an orc charged Ingrid. She cut along the wargs flank as it dodged past her. The warg screamed as her blade bit into its side. The orc slashed at her and cut her across her shoulder. She winced at the blow but the blade had only grazed her going just deep enough to draw blood. She slashed at the orc taking its arm off at the elbow as the screams around her grew louder. Ingrid spun to see two more of the merchants mangled bodies lying in pools of blood, alongside one of them was Alvis. She screamed and ran to her friend who lay dying, there was nothing she could do for him save avenge him. She stood back on her feet rage driving her forward and whirled around to reenter the fray. Erlend was fighting off one of the orcs, Ingrid lunged to help him but at that moment something caught her across her back. Blinding pain ripped through her back as claws racked through cloth and skin alike. Ingrid dropped to her knees and rolled barely missing the warg's second attack as it swiped at her again. She ended up under the beasts belly as it landed missing her with its second swip of its paw. The beast stood off kilter after missing the blow, Ingrid thrust her blade deep into its ribcage pushing it deeper as white hot pain spread throughout her back. The beast howled and blood gushed from its belly soaking Ingrid. The warg stumbled away from her and collapsed screaming. Its rider was pinned under the massive beast and Ingrid pushed herself off the ground and killed the orc with a single blow chopping off the ugly things head. She could feel the blood running down her back and looked over to see Erlend standing over the last warg and orc. For a moment she thought that he was alright till she saw the blood running from his belly between his fingers. She tried to move to help him but her own wounds became too much and she collapsed unconscious.

It had been almost two weeks later when she finally made it back to her home in the Blue Mountains. Only she and one of the men had survived and only barely. They had been found by other travelers and taken to the next village for aid. The man had not been nearly as badly injured as Ingrid and had told the others in the village what had happened. It had been almost a week before Ingrid was just strong enough to be taken back to her home by wagon. She had been barely conscious when her family had come running to get her. Ingrid saw the looks of worry on all their faces but she could not meet her father's eyes for she had failed. It was another two weeks of healing before she was able to start moving again. And though Ingemar had assured her that there was no dishonor to be had from the journey she still felt shame. The scars that now marred her back would serve as a reminder to her for the rest of her life. She would never let herself fail again, she would never lose those she cared about or those under her protection ever again and since that day she hadn't. Ingrid had taken on dozens of contracts since then and none had ended in failure as her first had.

Ingrid felt a twinge in her back along the scares that traced from her left shoulder to right hip as Balin finished the tale of Moria. She looked to Fili and Kili, then to Balin and Bilbo. All had their eyes turned towards Thorin who stood alone looking out towards the eastern sky. She would not let this quest end the way her first mission had. She would do everything she could and give everything she had to see it succeed. Ingrid would follow Thorin to the ends of the world if he asked it of her. He was her king and she would do whatever it was that he asked of her.


	4. Chapter 4

It was several days later and the rain was pouring down on them. Ingrid pulled her hood of her cloak forward trying to keep the rain out of her eyes. While the drops that fell on their heads were large and cold there was no wind it throw it into their eyes. Dori asked Gandalf if it was possible for him to stop the rain to which the wizard told him he would not. Ingrid thought it was somewhat odd that Gandalf, a wizard, rarely seemed to employ any kind of magic for their aid or benefit. But her mind drifted from this point because there weren't many tales of what a wizard could truly do with his magic. The hooves of the ponies made loud sucking sounds as they trudged their way through the thick mud that now made up the road. Ingrid rubbed her hands together trying to keep them warm. She had no worries about her pony losing its way if she let go of the reins, the surefooted beasts would follow each other in a line no matter where their track would go. This was convenient for the company allowing them to sleep in the saddle as necessary. Ingrid humming a tune to herself to pass the time when Thorin yelled to halt. She pulled up on the reins and looked ahead to see what was supposed to be a stream had turned into a small river. Ingrid dismounted Daisy and walked over with the rest of the company. She pulled her cloak tighter around her to try and stay at least somewhat dry. The current appeared to be moving swiftly but she suspected that the channel of the river to be fairly shallow, the ponies would be in nearly to their bellies but that seemed to hardly be a problem. After several moments of deliberation Thorin turned to the company.

"Mount up." Thorin barked. "We go across in pairs." The company mounted up and Ingrid fell in next to Nori. Thorin and Dwalin were the first to forge the river, Ingrid held her breath as they urged the ponies across. She let out a sigh of relief when they made it onto the opposite bank. Thorin signaled and Fili and Kili began to cross, two by two they made their way over till it was Ingrid and Nori's turn. Ingrid gave Daisies neck a reassuring pat as they rode into the river. The water didn't scare Ingrid but the current did. She was a strong swimmer but knew that if they were to make a single mistake while fording the river it would take them, then they would be in great danger. They had just made it across the half way point when Nori's horse Bungo slipped. The pony stumbled and Ingrid watched in horror as Nori went tumbling from the saddle and was swept downstream. She heard the other yelling from the banks and without a thought she leapt from Daisy and dove off into the river.

Fili couldn't believe what he saw Ingrid had dove head long into the water after Nori. The company began to sprint along the bank search franticly for Nori and Ingrid. Fili could see Ingrid swimming through the turbulent waters ahead of them. He couldn't believe she was still in control not having smashed into a single rock. Ingrid dove beneath the water's surface and did not reappear for a long time. The company began to spread out and search around the fallen trees and boulders that choked the river, Fili continued to race ahead with Kili at his side.

"HERE!" He heard Ingrid yelling. He could see her clutching to a boulder with one hand while her other arm was wrapped tight around Nori. Fili and Kili bolted towards them the rain stinging their face and eyes but it hardly seemed to matter. They clambered onto the boulder reaching out for Ingrid and Nori.

"Get Nori out!" Ingrid yelled. Fili and Kili each grabbed onto Nori's coat and pulled the dwarf up onto the boulder. Kili began to check him over while Fili reached out his hand for Ingrid's. She grabbed ahold of his hand, Fili moved to pull her out of the water when a massive log came careening downstream. Before Fili could react the log had collided with Ingrid smashing into her side and causing her to lose what little grip of the rock she had.

"Ingrid!" Fili screamed as she disappeared below the surface. The rest of the company appeared behind Fili watching the havoc unfold.

"Ingrid was pulled under." Fili shouted as he leapt back onto the bank and headed further down river. He heard Thorin barking orders but didn't care what he was saying. The rain whipped into his eyes as he searched the banks for any sign of her. Fili knew that she was a strong swimmer, but in the currents she could have be thrown against and rock and knocked unconscious. A part of him started to panic, there was still no sign of her. With how swiftly the current was running she could have already been a quarter mile ahead of him. As Fili rounded a small bend in the river he saw Ingrid pulling herself onto the bank. She was on all fours and coughing violently. As Fili rushed to her, she collapsed face first into the mud. Fili dropped to his knees next to her and gently rolled her over bringer her head into his lap. Ingrid was gasping out short ragged breathes but otherwise she seemed to be alright. Fili gently whipped the mud from her face.

"How could you do something so foolish?" He couldn't tell if he wanted to shake her or hug her. Ingrid smiled as her breathing began to come back to normal.

"Because anyone here would have done the same for me." She looked up at him still smiling. All Fili would do was shake his head, a part of him wanted to lean down and kiss her but he held himself back. He would not break his promise to her. Fili helped Ingrid to her feet as the rest of the company came running down the bank. Fili knew that in this act Ingrid had gather favor with Thorin and had taken the first step to becoming an integral part of the company.

Still more time tracked by and eventually the rain gave way to a blazing sun. The sun beat down on the company, even more relentless than usually. It seemed to by trying to make up for the time it had lost to the rain with its ferocity. It was near mid-day and both the ponies and company were suffering from the intensity of the heat. This was surprising due to the fact that dwarves were quiet resistant to both hot and cold weather. The company came to a halt near a small wood not long after mid-day, it was far earlier then when they would normally stop but the heat was starting to get to the ponies and they needed to rest. If they tried to push on one of the ponies might have gone down from the heat and put them even further behind. Once to ponies had been watered, they processed to start erecting a camp. Thorin gave orders to the different members. He sent Ingrid and Ori into the woods to gather fire wood. Ingrid had spent little time with the scribe but was fine with the arrangement. As they walked along in the forest Ingrid looked at Ori. He was about her age and the scribe for the company. Ori was also probably the least skilled when it came to battle, not being able to use a sword with any sort of confidence Ori preferred to use a sling shot and provide a sort of support during battles. He kept throwing her quick looks and stayed several feet away from her. After nearly an hour of Ori skidding around, Ingrid couldn't take it any longer.

"You don't have to be scared of me." He looked at her with big brown eyes and almost dropped his bundle of sticks.

"What, who said I'm scared of you?" Ori said puffing up a little bit to show he was not afraid. She just laughed shaking her head. This was not the first time she had put someone off, most people she met found her at least to some degree odd. Traditionally dwarf woman preferred being at home taking care of children and didn't work in forges or learn to fight like she had.

"Come on you've hardly said two words to me and can't even look at me properly." He seemed surprised that she was so forward with him. Ori took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke,

"I just I've have never met a girl like you is all. I mean to be honest you look like you could take me in a fight with ease and well…" Ori trailed off. Ingrid was curious to what he had to say.

"Come on you can tell me. Honestly I don't bite or anything." He shook his head as they turned to head back to the camp.

"It's not that it's just that I think you might even be able to beat Fili and Kili, if not both at the same time." Ingrid looked at him in total surprise.

"You haven't even seen me in a fight. How in the world did you come to that conclusion?" He shrugged.

"I don't know it's something in the way that you move. Being the scribe I'm not big on being in the fight I just sit back and observe and record. And there's something about you that people will underestimate you and they shouldn't." This totally took her aback, being complimented wasn't something she was used to. Ingrid was grateful for the compliment but it did sit comfortably with her.

"Ori, you're too kind but don't judge me before you've see me in a fight." Even she had some doubts about her skills. Her father had always warned her to never become over confident in her skill because that was when you slip up and a slip up could cost you your life. _There is always someone out there who was better, faster, or just luckier_. She felt a twinge run through the scars on her back as she thought about how that time she had been the lucky one. As they made their way back to the camp they came across a waterfall that feed into a pool. The water looked cool and refreshing. Ingrid made note of it because it had been far too long since she had last had a bath and a nice dip in some cool water would do her body some good. Her saddle sores had started to fade and even if they persisted, riding was far better than walking. By the time that they made it back most of the camp had already been set up and everyone was starting to settle down. Ingrid and Ori dropped their bundles of wood down next to the fire that Bofur was starting up.

"Everyone we found a waterfall and pool in the woods not too far from here." Ingrid announced to the company. "Mahal knows that some of you could use a bath, especially you Bombur." She added in a light hearted manner. Most of the company laughed at her jest and began to gather up their things.

"Well come on lass show us the way." Glóin said with a smile. Ingrid nodded and quickly gathered up her own things including a towel and bar of hard soap that she had safely packed away at the bottom of her pack. The company followed her into the woods as they made their way to the pool. She had to note that Fili and Kili would be among those joining her little expedition. Her heart fluttered slightly as the prospect of being naked in front of Fili, but dwarves hardly cared about such things and she buried her embracement. As she led the way back to the falls everyone was laughing and joking. It was a short walk and when they reached the pool a few members of the company gave her a smack on the back for finding such a perfect location. Now came the hard part, for Ingrid to abandon the clothes that clung to her body. The others around her were starting to undress and she steeled her nerves and undid her belt. Once she had removed her coat and boots she paused and carefully untied the leather strip that held her braid in place. As she picked apart her braid Bombur leapt into the pool sending up a massive wave of water soaking a still undressing Nori. Ingrid burst out laughing as the sight of his usually perfectly styled hair slumping against his head. She finished pulling the last of her braid apart and her hair tumbled down her back to its full length, reaching the small of her back. Ingrid couldn't delay undressing any longer, most of the company was already in the water or standing under the falls bathing. A part of her felt ashamed for being embraced to be seen nude. There was nothing to be ashamed of, her body was almost pure muscle from years of swordsmanship and working the forges and her scars were for the most part were badges of honor from battle fought and survived. She knew that it was her maiden side that made her feel ashamed. Ingrid had never been with a man feared the judgement that came with intimate situations such as those between lovers. But, this was not one of those times. She pulled her tunic off in one swift movement and discarded her trousers shortly thereafter. Completely exposed to the men around her she would not blush to show any hint of discomfort. Ingrid picked up her bar of soap and walked over to the falls where Dori and Nori were both scrubbing themselves clean.

Ingrid stepped under the falls feeling the cool water break over her head washing away the sweat and grime from the road. Once she was thoroughly soaked she stepped out of the water to begin scrubbing down her body. At first it felt to her that every eye was watching her judging her in her most exposed form but as she washed herself she saw that no one was staring. No one seemed to care at all that she was standing there naked as the day she was born. Most of the company was laughing playing the blind man's game in the pool. Ingrid smiled as Bofur blindly wandered about trying to catch one of the other dwarves. She returned to the waterfall, as she stepped back in and allowed the water to cascade over her washing away the soap that covered her body and with this she felt less aware of her nakedness. She realized that at that point no one saw her differently, she wasn't Ingrid the dwarf maid she was just Ingrid and member of Thorin oaken shields company of fourteen. It was several more minutes before Ingrid deemed herself thoroughly scrubbed and jumped into the pool to join the blind man's game.

She tried to sneak away from Dwalin who was now the blind man, but sneaking through water was no easy task and Dwalin grabbed hold of her arm making her the blind man. The others chuckled as she closed her eyes and listened. While the blind man's game was plenty of fun to be had it was also a good opportunity to learn to rely on hearing over sight. The others in the water made noise and sent waves of water at her to try and confuse her as to where they really were. Ingrid moved slowly towards one side where she heard a poorly concealed snort of laughter and felt the ripples of water moving past her as someone was flitting away. Just as she was about to make a move to lunge towards whoever it was that had laughed a massive splash of water crashed into from the right. In a flash she changed targets and lunged to her right grabbing a hold of someone shoulders. The force of her leap sent her crashing into their back and when she opened her eyes she saw herself holding onto Fili's shoulders her chest pressed tightly to his back. A moment of panic swept over her but before she had time to think Fili ducked under the water and she felt his hand grab hold of her legs pulling her onto his shoulders.

Ingrid realized what was happening a moment before it did. Fili kicked off the bottom of the pool and lifted her into the air before he purpled her off his shoulders and into the air. She let out a shout of surprise before she hit the water and came up laughing. The rest of the company was laughing and cheering as Fili did a mocking bow. In response Ingrid thrust her arms through the water splashing him full in the face. It was his turn to our right laugh. Ingrid looked around herself feeling happier then she had in a long time. She then noticed something out of the ordinary. Kili was standing on the bank dressed and seeming ready to go. Ingrid thought it was a little odd for him to leave without Fili so she started to wade over to the edge of the pool.

"Kili?" She asked. He looked at her a little surprised and gave her a wicked smile. Ingrid realized what he was thinking as he blotted for the pile of clothes that were hers.

"KILI!" Ingrid ran towards the bank with all her strength. She hit the water's edge as soon as Kili got to the pile. Ingrid barreled towards him ready to plow him over but he snagged the first items he could which included her coat and trousers. As she turned to keep chasing him down, she scooped up her tunic as she ran by and jerked it on. She could hear the others whooping and telling Kili to run faster. Kili ducked and dodged between trees but Ingrid was starting to gain on him. _I'm going to kill him, _she thought. Kili looked over his shoulder and saw she was gaining and kicked up his speed but she wasn't going to lose him. It was at that moment Ingrid realized he was headed for camp and she charged ahead with all her strength. Just as they broke out of the forest Ingrid leaped off a log and tackled Kili to the ground. She had the advantage of getting him from behind so it didn't take her long to pin him to the ground.

"Give me back my things." She hissed. Kili to her surprise released her clothing. Ingrid stood up and picked up her things, Kili rolled over laughing hysterically. His still soaked hair was a mess with twigs and leafs and Ingrid knew hers was just as bad. The bath she had taken had just been rendered useless. Though Ingrid had been boiling over a moment before and ready to pummel Kili into the dirt she couldn't help fall on the ground laughing with him. It felt like they were children again, after they stopped laughing she punched him as hard as she could in the shoulder.

"That's for taking my stuff." Kili yelped and rubbed his shoulder. Then he shrugged and sat up crossing his legs.

"I deserved that but I also wanted to get a chance to talk to you."

"You could have found a better way to do that without taking my clothes." Ingrid sighed.

"True enough but this was more fun." Ingrid shook her head. Fili might have matured a great deal in the last twenty years, Kili on the other hand had not.

"So what's so important you had to steal my clothes for to talk about?" She asked. He looked back into the woods before continuing.

"It's about Fili. He still has feelings for you, he always has. He's puts up the air of being strong but when it comes to any mater with you, well you can see it on his face how much he cares for you. So I'm just asking be careful with him, he'll never say it but he's scared of losing you. So try not to break his heart, or him for that matter."

"That's the last thing I want to do." Ingrid answered honestly. Kili smiled at her and stood up. He reached out his hand to help her up. Ingrid took it and stood up pulling the tunic down as far as she could and folded her clothes under her arm.

"Well I'm going to get some clothes on." Ingrid slipped around a tree and pulled on her trousers. There seemed to be no point to putting on her coat as she was now in need of another bath. As she was dressing she heard someone come over. From the voice she heard she knew it was Fili. Ingrid came around the tree to see him standing there in only his trousers and boots still dripping wet, with her boots, belt, and other bits of clothing in hand. _That was very sweet of him. _Fili began to blush when he saw her, she remembered how she had grabbed him in the pool and felt a blush run up her cheeks as well.

"Thank you." She said as she walked over to him and took her clothes from his arms. Another moment of silence drug on and she could feel the tension between them starting to build up again. Ingrid met Fili's eyes and smiled, trying to break the tension she reached up and lightly pulled on one side of his braided mustache.

"Come on don't be so serious. I'll find a way to get Kili back for this." Fili smiled at her then turned to his brother looking very serious. In a flash he wrapped and arm around Kili's neck pulling him down into a head lock.

"Fili stop it." Kili moaned in protest.

"Didn't our mother teach you better than that? Stealing a young ladies clothing is completely inappropriate for a decedent of Durin." Fili said in a sarcastic mock lecture tone. Ingrid laughed as Kili swore that he had learned his lesson Ingrid began to pull on her boots as Fili released Kili.

"Come on you two, let's get back to the pool. Thanks to Kili we both need another bath."


	5. Chapter 5

They had made it to the land of Ruhdaur and were camped in a thick wood. It would only be a few more days till they reached the Misty Mountains. Ingrid sat by the fire eating a bowl of stew. It was hot and thick and warmed her up inside the prefect meal after a long day of riding. She smiled to herself as she looked around at the company. Over the past weeks they had truly become her friends and in some ways her family, even the little hobbit. Bilbo may have appeared to be a weakling but something about him told her he had more to offer. Maybe it was because she saw a little of herself in him, someone fighting the odds trying to prove that they belonged. Ingrid drained the last of her stew as Bofur sent Bilbo off to give Fili and Kili a bowl of stew each, seeing as they set to watching the ponies. She stood up and handed her bowl back to Bombur then settled back down on her sleeping roll. As she began to fall asleep Fili came bursting through the bushes. Ingrid sat up with a jolt.

"Trolls." He gasped out. Everyone shot out of their seats. Ingrid had a hand on her sword as Thorin grabbed ahold of Fili's shoulders. In less a minute he told them everything, Kili and he had sent Bilbo into the trolls encampment to try and set the ponies free but they knew it wouldn't be long before Bilbo needed backup. All Thorin had to do was look at the company and everyone grabbed up their weapons. Ingrid checked her sword and dagger and even picked up her bow and arrows in case she could get off a few distance shots. The company followed Fili out of the camp and deeper into the woods. The dwarves moved in relative silence and brilliant speed and soon enough they heard voices and saw a fire glowing in the distance. As they drew closer in Ingrid drew her sword from its sheath, she had never fought a troll before but she knew that they were slow and stupid, and with the company's skill and tactics the odds seemed to be in their favor. The company began to spread out a bit around the clearing. Ingrid snuck up to a boulder and peered over, Bilbo was dangling upside down with three huge trolls around him. They were monstrous creatures standing close to nine or ten feet tall. They all lay in wait, waiting for the perfect time to catch the trolls purely off their guard, and then they had it. Kili came bursting out of the bushes slicing one of the trolls along the back of the leg and demanded they drop Bilbo. The trolls in their stupidity threw Bilbo at Kili who proceeded to catch him. As soon as Bilbo was caught Thorin lead the charge at the trolls. Ingrid leapt over the boulder and joined the fray. She ducked and rolled slashing at every inch of troll she could get too. Ingrid stopped thinking, all the mattered was to keep moving and helping the company. Bifur gave her a nod and she locked her hands so she could vault him up to the troll. The move worked perfectly as Bifur landed on the trolls back attacking wildly. Ingrid moved fluidly with her swords as though it was and extension of her arm hacking and slashing, this is what she was born to do. All the years of training were paying off. This was the first real chance she had had to show her skills. Then all movement stopped. Two of the trolls had Bilbo by the arms and legs.

"Lay down your arms or his come off." The hobbits face pleaded to them. Ingrid looked to Thorin. This was his choice and she would follow her king. Thorin stood there for a moment deliberating on what to do, the silence dragged on and time slowed in those few seconds. Ingrid's heart was pounding, her hand clenched tight around her sword ready to start the fight anew when she heard the clang of Thorin's sword hitting the ground. She stood there is shock for a moment then threw down her own sword defiantly. Their burglar needed to be saved and Ingrid knew Thorin had made the right choice. Still her warrior side made her only want to continue the fight. The trolls smiled in a disgusting manner at each other.

"Now none of you little weasels move." The trolls began to grab up the dwarves and stuff them into burlap sacks. The stupidest of them grabbed up Ingrid, his massive hand closed around her and lifted her off the ground.

"This one looks funny." He said to the other. "It don't have no beard." Ingrid defiantly barely holding back the contempt in her voice as she shouted a curse at the troll, the trolls' big dull eyes grew wider at the sound of her voice.

"Lads look at this one. I think it's a girl."

"Of course I'm a girl." Ingrid yelled back. The troll stared at her in amazement.

"Who cares what it is. She'll taste the same as the others." Said the one who was working on tying some of the dwarves to the spit, from what Ingrid could tell that one was the leader.

"Just put her in the sack like da others." The idiot continued to stare at her seeming to be entranced by the fact that she was woman. After another moment of staring he stuffed her feet first into a sack and synched the top tight around her neck. He then tossed her down into the pile with the rest. She landed with a thud on top of Kili. She had never felt more humiliated and useless in her life. Ingrid couldn't do anything, she struggled in her bondage but she couldn't undo the knot from inside the bag. The trolls finished tying up the rest of the company to the spit and began to try and roast them turning them slowly on the spit. It seemed like there was nothing that could be done, suddenly Bilbo stood up amongst them in his sack and spoke. Ingrid wanted to tackle him to the ground and make him shut up, if anything this little hobbit was going to get them all killed much faster. Much to her surprise though the trolls seemed to be listening to him and it was actually looking like they might be saved. She joined in with the shouting of the other dwarves when Gandalf appeared before them startling the trolls by splitting the boulder he stood upon. Ingrid had never been more relieved in her life to see someone. The dawn light streamed in and the trolls howled and screamed as they turned to stone. Ingrid cheered along with her companions.

With Gandalf's help all fifteen were able to escape there bondage and gather their weapons. After they were all untied they began to look for the cave that the trolls had been hiding out in. With all of them looking it didn't take long to find the cave, which had the horrendous smell of a trollhord. The cave however had a massive pile of jewels, gold, armor, and weapons most of which had a thick layer of dust and cob webs from years of laying dormant and hidden. Ingrid took her time looking through the piles but there really wasn't anything there that she wanted apart from some gold but weighing herself down with extra gold and jewels wouldn't be a wise idea. Glóin and some others buried a small chest of gold for later, Gloin called it a long term deposit but she knew once they had retaken Erubor they wouldn't need such a thing. Ingrid sat outside the cave waiting for the others to finish up when a noise came from the woods. Something was headed right towards them and fast. She grabbed her bow and notched an arrow, when a sled burst from the underbrush being pulled by the largest rabbits she had ever seen. The owner of the sled was none other than Radagast the brown, one of the five wizards of middle earth who Gandalf greeted warmly. Once there it was established that there was no threat Ingrid lowered her bow and relaxed as the wizards began to talk. The business of wizards had nothing to do with her so she allowed her mind to wander as the slightly deranged wizard took counsel with Gandalf. The wizards discussed the matters of the world for a while then a howl pierced the stillness of the forest and sent a cold chill down her spine. The sight of blood and fire pierce through her thoughts as a slight sweat came about her, she had wished to never hear that horrid howling again.

"Wargs." She breathed. Just then a massive warg came over the slope and down towards the company. She grabbed her bow and the arrow took aim letting loose an arrow fly taking the warg in the flank causing it crashed down where Thorin drove his blade deep into the beast silencing it. Two more wargs came down at them and the company finished off swiftly so that they wouldn't have a chance to signal the others.

"Warg scouts, which means and orc pack isn't far behind." Thorin said in disgust. Gandalf rounded on him.

"Who did you tell of this quest besides your kin?"

"No one." Thorin said stone faced.

"Who did you tell?!"  
"No one I swear." Gandalf seemed flustered by this. "What in Durin's name is going on?"

"You are being hunted." Gandalf exclaimed to the company.

"We need to get out of here." Dwalin said, Ori and Bifur came over the ridge at that moment.

"We can't the ponies have bolted." Ingrid felt her stomach drop without the ponies they had no hope of out running an orc pack. Just when it seemed like there last stand would happen there and then the odd wizard said he would draw them off. Though Gandalf protested the little wizard had no doubts that the orcs would never be able to catch him. Without any further delay the wizard mounted his sled and disappeared into the brush.

"Move." Thorin barked and the company began to run. Ingrid kept her bow in hand with an arrow notched in case another scout caught their trail. They ran to the edge of the forest and waited. Once Radagast had drawn the orcs attention they began to run across the open plain. All Ingrid could do was run, she dare not loose an arrow for fear of giving away their position. They ran, dodging and hiding behind rocks and trees, till they paused breathless behind an outcrop of rock, and to their horror heard a warg closing in. Ingrid held her breath as Thorin looked to Kili to shoot it down, she watched as he notched his arrow turned and fired. The warg let out an alarmed scream of pain as it came crashing down the rock with its rider still on it. Dwalin was the closest and bashed the orc skull in with his war hammer. Other joined quickly to finish the warg off and silence it but the echos of it death gave away their position.

"Move. Run!" Gandalf yelled and all the dwarves ran. Ingrid kept pace with them dodging around pines and boulders as they moved across the open terrain. They spotted the pack on a ridge to their west and swung south trying to out run them but they were running out of options fast. They became surrounded with their backs against a massive boulder.

"Kili, Ingrid take the wargs out, we might be able to get an advantage if they lose their mounts!" Thorin bellowed this order to them and Ingrid took quick action. Ingrid sprinted to Kilis' side and took aim at the first warg she saw. The arrow flew straight and true hitting its mark lodging its shaft deep into the skull of the warg bringing the fowl beast down. She heard Kili let an arrow fly and took aim at the second warg. Arrow after arrow they let fly but the wargs and orcs just kept coming. Their resilience infuriating Ingrid and she loosed more arrow, she reached back for another arrow to find that she was running out fast. Ingrid blocked out her fears of that night and focused on each shot, that was all that mattered, take out as many of them as she could to give the others a chance to get away. Then she heard Thorin yell at them to run towards the boulder. The orcs were drawing in closer Ingrid looked to Kili and nodded. He bolted, she let one more arrow fly and turned to follow him. She could see the outcropping where Thorin was standing only a hundred yards away. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw an orc with a bow and the arrow was trained on Kili. Ingrid acted without thinking and barreled forward launching herself between the orc and Kili. Just as she crashed into Kili knocking him forward she felt the bitter pain explode across her shoulder as the arrow made contact. It hardly fazed her as her mind was on getting Kili out of there safely. She grabbed Kili by the arm and ran harder than she ever had before. They closed in on the outcropping and Ingrid all but threw Kili down the crevasse before tumbling down herself. The arrow in her shoulder snapped in half as she hit the ground and dug deeper into her flesh the pain of which cause her vision to fad slightly. She couldn't help but let out a small shout of pain. Ingrid felt strong hands grab her and pull her out of the way and deeper into the cave as a trumpet sounded from above and a warg came crashing down to meet them. The others finished off the warg and its rider as she grimaced at her bleeding shoulder. Fili was standing next to her as well as Óin was looking closely at her wound. Óin began to fuse with her shoulder as the sounds of slaughter could be heard from above.

"It's nothing." She said as she pushed herself off the ground and stood holding her shoulder, Oin ignored her and continued to look after the wound. Ingrid could feel the blood running down her arm but now they needed to move. There seemed to be a path that led further down the crevasse, it was better to try their luck with an unknown path then with what was on the plains above slaughtering a hunting party of wargs with ease. Ingrid moved with the rest of company while Oin placed a small bit of bandage around the wound till they could find a place to rest and he could properly look after it. As they walked she began to think of what she had done. She knew that even though it was vastly reckless putting her life on the line to help and save Kili had bought her some favor with Thorin. Not that she had taken it just to prove herself, she would have taken the arrow any way. Kili was like her little brother and she would protect him as fiercely as she would any of her sisters. Ingrid also knew she would have taken the arrow for anyone in the company for the same reason they were her family and she would protect them with everything she had. She also thought of Fili and how she would protect him as well but her feelings behind that reason was vastly different than the others.


	6. Chapter 6

As they made their way down the crevasse Fili worried about Ingrid. As She walked right in front of him with a hand on her shoulder. As Fili walked behind her he could see a small trail of blood being left behind her. The small beads of blood trickling from her open wound were raining down slowly on the path as they walked, this worried Fili a great deal. Though she said it wasn't bothering her he could tell it was causing her a lot of pain. Óin had tried to stop her several times try and get the bleeding to stop but he need more time. He needed time to sit her down and tend to her but could not with Gandalf leading them onwards to certain doom as many felt. The crevasse seemed to go on and on, and they had no choice but to keep moving forward. Thorin seemed to be growing more and more suspicious at every bend in the cavern they came across. The company had been walking for almost two hours when Ingrid began to stumble over her own feet. Fili came up next to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. If he didn't do something she would end up collapsing.

"What are you doing?" She whispered. Fili didn't let go he just kept walking.

"Helping you of course. You're hurt and bleeding steadily and by the way that you're walking it won't be long before you collapse." He tightened his grip around her waist as they moved along. Ingrid warped her good arm around his shoulders for support. Fili couldn't help but notice the blush that was starting to run up Ingrid's cheeks. Unfortunately for Fili having his arm around her waist reminded him of grabbing her in the pool. Even though she was wearing her tunic and jacket in his mind he could feel the softness of her skin, he's face became beet red at the thought. Fili shook off the thoughts and focused on keeping Ingrid moving. That was what his goal was, to keep her moving no matter what. Thankfully it wasn't long before the path began to widen and soon enough they came into a valley.

"The Valley of Imladris." Gandalf said as he walked into the valley. "In the common tongue it's known by another name."

"Rivendell." Bilbo said with a sigh. Thorin turned on Gandalf. Fili looked around in amazement, though he had a distain for the elves he had never seen anything like grandeur that lay before him in the valley. The buildings seemed to move as one with the landscape and waterfalls were cascading everywhere. He looked down at Ingrid who looked just as amazed as he did. It was then that she started to lean even more heavily on him. He would have yelled for Óin but Gandalf began to lead the party down towards the buildings saying how he would do all the talking.

"Come on." He said to Ingrid. "It's not much further." She smiled up at him, her smile was very weak and was contrasted her face which was beginning to become more and more pale as they walked. Fili quickened their pace, she needed help fast.

"You always did look out for me."Ingrid said in a whisper more to herself than to him, Fili smiled back and focused on getting her down the hill. Though it wasn't a long walk to the main courtyard Ingrid still lost her footing several times. Fili managed to keep her on her feet and even got her across the long slender bridge without slipping. The company stopped in an open courtyard looking around at the world of the elves. A moment later an elf came down the steps and greeted Gandalf in elvish.

"I must speak to Lord Elrond." The elf shot a cool glance at the dwarves before responding.

"My Lord Elrond is not here."

"Not here?" Gandalf exclaimed, he was cut short by the blaring of a trumpet. It was the same one they had heard on the plains. The company turned to see elves in full armor on horseback riding towards them.

` "Close ranks." Thorin bellowed and the company formed a tight circle. Fili pushed Ingrid towards the center seeing she was in no condition to fight. The elves encircled the dwarves and Fili pulled both of his swords out of their sheaths and stood ready. The elves circled and circled Fili was ready for a fight, elves didn't scare him. When one elf spoke up,

"Gandalf." He said in a clear voice.

"Lord Elrond." Gandalf responded. They embraced and began to speak in elvish. Though it seemed to be a friendly exchange Fili was in no mood to lower his weapons yet.

"Strange for orcs to come so close to our boarders. Something or someone must have drawn them here."

"That may have been us." Gandalf said politely. Elrond turned his attention to the company, where Thorin stepped forward.

"Thorin, son of Thrain." The elf lord said politely.

"I do not believe we have met." Thorin said accusingly

"You have your grandfather barring. I knew Thror when he ruled under the mountain." Thorin continued to eye the elf lord coolly.

"Indeed, he made no mention of you." Elrond didn't appear to be offended, he merely spoke in elvish. Fili didn't like not understanding what the willowy lord was saying and Glóin blurted out,

"What is he saying? Does he offer us insult?" The dwarves brandished their weapons.

"No master Glóin he is offering you food." Gandalf replied. The dwarves turned to each other and gave a quick nod of agreement. A hot meal was something they all could agree on, even if said meal was coming from the elves.

"Well then lead on."

Elrond gestured them up the stairs. Fili sheathed his swords and wrapped his arm around Ingrid waist again and began to help her up them. Just as they reached the top of the stairs Elrond stopped them.

"Her wound needs tending too." He said softly. "Please, allow my healers to help her." Fili didn't trust the elves but elven medicine was famous for its healing and restoration. He nodded and said,

"Alright but I'm staying with her." Elrond bowed his head in agreement and his servant showed them to a different path then the rest of the company. He fallowed the elf to a small chamber with a narrow bed in it.

"I'll bring a healer to you." The servant said before he turned and left them alone. Fili helped Ingrid sit down on the bed.

"Come on we need to get your jacket off." He said. She let out a short chuckle then grimaced.

"I see that it takes an arrow in my arm for you to try and get me out of my clothes." Fili just rolled his eyes as he helped her pull of the jacket.

"If I remember correctly, I promised I wouldn't try anything until you proved yourself to Thorin." Ingrid gave a weak nod. The left arm of her coat was soaked with blood and just the effort of getting it off seemed to take all the strength Ingrid had. He could see what was left of the arrow sticking out of her arm through her blood soaked tunic.

"We should have stopped earlier." He cursed under his breath as he helped her lie down. She was so weak that he held the back of her head just to make sure she didn't fall.

"No this is fine. We needed to keep moving and the truth is I'm probably the least valuable member of the company." Fili ran a hand across her hair to try and comfort her.

"That's not true, your valuable than you give yourself credit. You helped hold those wargs off giving us time to get out and you took this arrow for Kili. You belong here as much as anyone." Someone cleared their throat behind them. Fili looked behind him to see a tall slender woman with long black hair walked into the room. Fili stood up out of her way as she kneeled down next to Ingrid. She removed a pair of small scissors from her apron and cut away the ruined sleeve. After a moment of examining the arrow she looked at Ingrid.

"This is going to hurt." She said in a sweet high voice.

"I can handle it." Ingrid said through gritted teeth. With a nod the she-elf wrapped her long slender fingers around the arrow shaft and pulled it out in one shift movement. Ingrid let out a scream that made Fili flinch. Blood began to rush from the wound but the she-elf didn't seem to pay it any attention. She pressed a hand against the wound, Fili could see something green sticking from between her fingers, and she began to chant. Fili couldn't understand what she was saying but the blood stopped flowing from the wound and the pain on Ingrid's face began to melt away and her eyes closed. In a matter of moments he saw the color beginning to return to her skin as well. The elf turned to the basin of water that sat beside the bed and washed the blood off her hands before picking up clean bandages and binding the wound. Before she left she picked up Ingrid's jacket and turned to Fili,

"She will be fine now. I'll have this washed and returned to her." The elf turned to leave.

"Thank you." Fili said softly, he had honestly never thought in his life he would thank an elf for anything.

"You love her." The she-elf said, Fili nodded as he looked down at Ingrid. Over the past weeks they had been reconnecting and he had fallen in love with her all over again. The she-elf didn't say a word after that she just merely swept from the room like a gentle breeze, leaving them alone. Fili sat on the edge of the bed waiting for Ingrid to wake. Her hair was all about her face Fili longed to brush it from her face. It wasn't too long before she opened her eyes.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked in a groggy voice.

"Not long." Ingrid touched the bandages on her arm and proceeded to sit up. Fili stood up giving her space to move as she needed.

"I can't even feel it anymore." She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "I'll give the elves this they do know their medicine." Ingrid glanced down at her tunic again. "And how to ruin a tunic." Fili laughed hard at this, the mood had been so dire up to this point and seeing as Ingrid was okay all the tension and fear he had melted away with each laugh. He offered her his hand and helped her off the bed. For moment he thought she might fall but she held her balance. Fili smiled at her as he let go of her hand.

"We'd better find the rest before dinner starts and Bombur eats everything." He said with a smile. He and Ingrid walked out of the chamber and back the way they had come. It didn't take them anytime at all to find the rest of the company, all they had to do was listen. The dwarves were the loudest thing in all of Rivendell making them incredibly easy to find. The company was standing around on a balcony talking wildly to each other while drinking elvish wine. Kili was the first one to spot them and let out a whoop. The rest greeted them with smiles and cheers. Most gave Ingrid a smack on the back for what she had done. Fili picked up a glass of wine and walked over towards Thorin who was standing alone on the edge of the group.

"Uncle?" Fili inquired, Thorin looked at him and smiled.

"I see that Ingrid is fine now."

"Yes, a she-elf patched her up." Fili paused for a moment then spoke, "Uncle, do you think that Ingrid has proved herself to this company?" Thorin looked out across the valley for a moment.

"I will admit I had my doubts at first, her father and grandfather were both great worriers but I wasn't sure of her skills. She set all those doubts aside today. Ingrid not only helped your brother hold off the wargs, but threw herself between him and an arrow. Loyalty is greater than anything Fili. That is way I would rather have these dwarves at my back than an army. I want you to remember that Fili. Loyalty is everything." Fili gave Thorin a sure nod then looked back at Ingrid and smiled. She was laughing and joking with the rest of the company. He remembered what she had said in Bag End, once she proved herself to Thorin and she had done just that. A part of Fili felt giddy and another was terrified, he turned to go talk to her when an elf appeared and told them dinner was served.


	7. Chapter 7

Fili leaned against the railing of one of the many balconies that decorated Rivendell drinking a glass of fine elfish wine while toying with a ring in one hand. The elves had given each of the members of the company their own rooms, even with their hatred for the elf's this seems very generous to him. And though the rooms were spacious and comfortable they were still elven in every way, which made Fili feel a bit uncomfortable. So that left him to wander about Rivendell. Thorin had gone with Balin, Bilbo and Gandalf to discuss the map with Lord Elrond, the rest of the company was left to their own devices. As Fili absent mindedly played with the ring he heard footsteps coming up behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see Ingrid walking towards him. Fili smiled to see that she was up and about. He chuckled slightly, for she had ripped the one remaining sleeve from her tunic exposing her arms completely. Her left shoulder was still bandaged but no blood had seeped through which was a good sign. She walked up to the railing and leaned against it looking out over the valley. Fili started to the feel the nervous jitters that he always did when he thought of her. Even as he watched her moon light broken through the clouds and bathed her in a light glow.

"I've never seen any place like this before." Ingrid whispered softly. Fili nodded in agreement still toying with the ring. His eyes wandered over to her admiring her well-toned arms and the way her back swayed as she leaned forward against the railing.

"What's that?" Ingrid asked curiously. Her question pulled him back from his day dreaming.

"Oh this? It's a token I receive from my mother." He held the ring out to her which she took gently. Ingrid examined the ring for a moment.

"It's quite beautiful." She then noticed the engraving craved into the inner part of the band. "Forever." She murmured under her breath.

"It was the ring my father gave to my mother when he asked for her hand." Ingrid's eyes widened as she looked at this ring with such a small stone, it held such importance and grandeur these facts began to set in, Fili chuckled to himself.

"What's that about?" Ingrid prompted.

"Oh nothing, I just was remembering." He looked off into the distance as the memories came back to him.

"Remembering what exactly?" Ingrid prodded further.

"Of a story my uncle Thorin told me of, like when my father asked him for permission to marry my mother." It was Ingrid's turn to chuckle.

"I pity the man." Fili smiled at her.

"To say the least Thorin didn't make it easy on him. Mother had to practically beat Thorin with his own hammer to get him to agree." Ingrid and Fili both burst out laughing at the idea of Lady Dis chasing her elder brother about with his own smithing hammer. But for Fili this happy memory quickly turned bitter, he stopped laughing suddenly and looked back out on the valley.

"Fili?" Ingrid asked in a worried voice.

"I wish I had known my father more. I was only twenty when he died and I don't have many memories of him, Kili hardly remembers him at all." Before he could stop himself he started telling Ingrid about the last time he saw his father.

"The last time I saw him was when he went off with Thorin and several other men from our village to track down an orc pack that had been seen in the area. I remember him saying good bye, he kissed my mother and told me to watch over her and Kili while he was away. Kili asked him when he would be back and my father said not to worry that he would be home soon. But, he never came home. It was almost a month till the hunting party returned and even then only a few did. I remember Thorin coming into our house. Kili and I were so excited to see him and our father again but Thorin looked so mournful. He took our mother away into the kitchen to speak with her alone. I didn't understand what was happening. Then I heard Mother sobbing. Kili and I rushed in to see what was wrong and that was when Thorin told us our father had fallen in battle. I was angry, I screamed at Thorin and called him a liar but he didn't get angry with me he only had pity and the faint sign of tears in his eyes. All he did was pull me and Kili into his arms and tell us he would always be there for us." Fili trailed off, maybe he had said too much. Ingrid took his hand in hers and pressed the ring back into his palm and curled his fingers around it.

"Do you remember when my father almost died in that mining accident?" She asked in a sad voice, Fili nodded.

"I was so scared I thought he was going to die. But, I didn't show my fear I couldn't. I had to be strong for my mother and sisters. But you were there for me, you were always there for me. I remember how I went to the woods that night, to the spot where we would always meet and you were already there waiting for me. You didn't say anything you didn't need too you just held me tight. That one gesture meant more to me than anything else." Fili looked at her wide eyed. Their hands were still intertwined as they stood on the balcony gazing at each other.

"Ingrid." He whispered as he reached out his hand and gently caressed her cheek. This was the time to tell her what Thorin had told him. Fili also wanted to turn to topic away from the painful memories of their pasts.

"I spoke to Thorin." He said quietly. Ingrid's eyes flicked up to meet his, Fili dropped his hand from her cheek and clasped her hands once more. "I asked him if he felt you had proven yourself to the company."

"What did he say?" She was incredibly nervous to hear the answer.

"He said, you shown yourself to be just as true a member as any other in the company." A smile burst across Ingrid's face. Fili had never seen her look so happy in all her life. Just seeing her joy made him smile as well.

"Do you remember what you said at Bag End?" Fili asked softly. He let go of her hands returning the ring to his pocket before he reached out his hands to cup the sides of her face. Ingrid stared at him with those big green eyes as her smile faded away into surprise.

"I guess that means…" She trailed off.

"Yes it does." He whispered before he closed the distance between them and kissed her. To his delight she did not refuse his kiss as she had at Bag End but instead returned it. Her lips were soft and sweet. He could even taste the wine she had been drinking still on them. This kiss was very different from the one they had shared at Bag End, where that one had been one sided and forced this one was soft and deep. He felt Ingrid wrap her arms around his waist as the kiss deepened. Fili moved one hand to the back of her head feeling her soft hair between his fingers and the other hand moved to the small of her back. Fili never wanted the kiss to end. Ingrid pulled away, her face looked flushed. She flipped her braid over one shoulder and began to speak worriedly.

"Fili what are we doing?" She asked in hushed voice.

"I don't know to be honest." Fili paused for a moment. "Let's continue this conversation somewhere more private." Ingrid nodded in agreement and they walked quickly away from the balcony. Fili took ahold of Ingrid's hand and lead her down the halls to the room that the elves had given him. His mind raced faster and faster as they made their way down the hall thinking of millions of different outcomes to the following proceedings. But in the end the conversation they were about to have would lead to one of two out comes. One Ingrid would end up leaving and they would never speak of this night again or he would finally bed the maiden of his dreams. Fili thanked Durin that they didn't run into any one on their way to his room and once they were safely inside he bolted the door to make sure that no one would burst in. Though the only person who would do that was Kili, still he didn't want them to be interrupted. Fili turned to see Ingrid standing in the middle of the room, it looked as if she didn't know what she was doing and he feared that she would change her mind and leave. Fili acted quickly.

"Ingrid I know that this…What I mean is…" Fili let out a sigh. He had suddenly been taken over by his nerves and couldn't seem to gather the words that he had thought of for month on end as they traveled together.

"Fili." Ingrid said in a far surer voice than her appearance would have allowed him to think she could muster. "You know that if we do this. If we give into our feelings for each other that everything is going to change." Fili looked at her in surprise, amazed that she was the one to bring up giving into their feelings.

"Yes I do." Fili walked over to her and took her hands in his. He could feel she was shaking ever so slightly. "But if we don't do this we'll wonder and regret it for the rest of our lives." He was amazed that he was able to speak the words that were in his heart so easily and freely to her. Ingrid had her eyes trained on the ground and didn't respond for a long time.

"I want to try this, Fili." She looked up meeting his gaze. His heart skipped a beat to hear her say those words. Fili couldn't stop himself he wrapped his arms around Ingrid kissing her passionately. The kiss continued deepening with each moment and Fili couldn't stop himself from slowly trailing his hands down her back and start to work at pulling up her tunic but when he did this Ingrid pulled away sharply.

"What's wrong?" He asked surprised by her sudden retreat. She had flipped her braid over her shoulder again and was worrying the end.

"It's just that I've…Well you see…" Ingrid kept trailing off when it suddenly hit Fili.

"You're still a maid aren't you?" Ingrid's cheeks turned bright red at his statement and she glared at him.

"Well it's not exactly like I've had a lot of opportunities to…" Her cheeks reddened again which he found endearing. Fili closed the distance between them and pulled Ingrid into his chest gentle wrapping her in his arms.

"We can take things slow then." He whispered against her hair. Ingrid returned his embrace and they stayed like that for a time just enjoying each other's company. After a while Fili spoke up.

"Let's start with this." He let go of Ingrid and turned her around picked up the end of her braid and began to undo the binding. Once the strip had come lose and fallen to the floor he began to undo the braid. Fili worked the braid apart running his fingers through her thick auburn hair. Ingrid seemed to be enjoying his untangling her braid and when the deed was done she turned around smiling at him. He loved the way she looked with her hair down as it was almost always tied back. Fili reached back behind his head and undid the clip that held his hair in place allowing it to fall loser around his face. Ingrid reached out her hand and caressed his cheek softly drawing him in for a kiss.

This time when the passion built in the kiss it was Ingrid to make the first move. She made short work of his belt which clattered to the floor and began to push his coat off his shoulders which he gladly removed. Fili grabbed onto the edge of his tunic pulling it up over his head forcing them to break their kiss. He had to smile at the way Ingrid was staring at his now exposed torso yet she seemed too nervous to actually touch him. Fili took her hand in his and placed it over his heart before drawing her in for another kiss.

Ingrid couldn't believe what she was doing. She had often wondered what it would be like to be with a man but now that it was really happening. The kiss had turned from sweet and tender to burning passion. Fili wrapped one arm around her waist while the other hand twisted into her hair. Then to her surprise he gently opened his lips against hers, she felt unsure for a moment then returned the gesture. What came next caught her completely off guard. Fili slipped his tongue into her mouth exploring it softly. To her surprise the sensation only made her melt into Fili more. Her own tongue began to move against his and soon enough they were fighting for dominance in the kiss. Ingrid felt for the first time in her life that her warrior and maiden sides were coming together. Fili then moved his hand from her lower back and up her front to her breast. She let out an involuntary moan as his hand cupped her. He kneaded her breast slowly almost at a tortuous pace. Ingrid pressed her body tighter to Fili forcing him to remove his hand. Yet, in doing so she could feel an unmistakable bulge pressing against her thigh. Just feeling his manhood was enough to make her blush she couldn't imagine what it would be like later. Fili then moved his hand to the edge of her tunic and began to pull it upward. Ingrid stepped back allowing him to remove the garment, which he tossed to the floor the moment it was free from her. He stood there frozen for a moment openly staring at her bare chest. Though it was not the first time he had seen her naked she had never seen him stare with such open lust before. Feeling embarrassed by his stares she covered her chest with her hands. This broke Fili from his trance as he met her eyes once more.

"Don't hide. You're beautiful." He said as he kissed her again. It was a short almost chaste kiss one that reassured her. She took a moment to gaze at his exposed torso as well. There were long scares that ran along his chest which was corded with muscle but those only seemed to add to the appeal. Fili did not wait long before he began to kiss her again but this time he wrapped and arm around her waist and scooped her up into his arms. She let out a soft gasp as he carried her over to the bed. Once he laid her down he started to kiss her neck and run a hand along her side moving up from her hip towards her breast. Before he could reach her bare chest panic over took her.

"Stop." She said in a breathless voice. Fili pulled away from her and looked down in surprise.

"What's wrong? Are you not enjoying this?" Ingrid felt a blush run back up her face.

"No it's not that. I was just thinking maybe we should finish undressing before we continue." Fili didn't respond he just stood up and began to try and tug off his boots. Ingrid sat up and pulled her own boots off. Fili however hopped around on one foot trying to pull off his boot. Ingrid had hers both off as Fili finally got his first boot off but the force he used to pull it off caused him to lose his balance and fall flat on his ass. Ingrid out right laughed as Fili turned bright red and tugged off his other boot before standing up and jumping back on the bed. He grabbed one of Ingrid's wrists holding her down.

"That wasn't very polite of you to laugh." Fili said with a devilish look in his eyes but Ingrid wasn't buying it. She slammed her free hand into his chest flipping him over and straddling his hips. Fili still had ahold of her wrist but she didn't mind, there was one question she had to ask him before they went any further.

"Fili." She said with all the seriousness she had. "Have you ever done this?" She figured what the answer would be but she had to know for herself. He let go of her wrist and touched her face.

"Yes." He answered honestly. Ingrid looked away at that moment. She didn't like the idea of Fili being with someone else but she couldn't blame him. He must have had every dwarf maid throwing themselves at him and there was bound to be one that he had liked. _At least he was honest with me._ Fili gently turned her face back towards his.

"I'm sure that idea doesn't make you very happy but those…Those were barmaids and tavern girls. They didn't mean anything. Not like what you mean to me." He said with a soft smile this was enough to reassure Ingrid and she smiled back. Fili pushed himself up into a sitting position wrapping his arms around Ingrid and started to kiss her neck again. She felt herself melt into his arms as she entwined her fingers in his hair. Fili gently turned her and laid her back down on the bed continuing to kiss down her neck to the top of her chest. Her heart beat faster as he continued down and began to kiss her breasts. Ingrid became lost in the feelings she was experiencing, every one of Filis' touches seemed to set her skin on fire. Then she felt his fingers beginning to work on the laces of her trousers. Ingrid felt paralyzed as Fili undid them and pulled them off, along with her small clothes, in one fluid motion. Before he could get a chance to look at her completely nude Ingrid sat up pulling her legs to her chest. It was one thing to bath with the company it was another to be alone with him like this. She knew that there was no need to be nervous but she had never felt so exposed in her life. A part of her was afraid that if he saw her like this as a timid maid he wouldn't want her anymore even though she knew this was folly.

"Here," Fili said softly, "hopefully this will help." Fili stood up and began to undo his trousers. Ingrid couldn't help but sit there and watch. She gazed at his toned body, years of training to fight and working a forge had left him with every muscle defined. He undid the laces with ease and pushed his trousers over his hips. Ingrids' eyes grew wider at the sight of him before she blushed and looked away. While she was familiar with a man's body seeing his lust for her made her feel even more timid as to what was to come.

"You don't have to be embraced Ingrid." She heard him come back over to the bed and wrap an arm around her. He began to gently kiss her shoulders and the back of her neck.

"You're an amazing warrior. You're loyal and kind and beautiful and you are the only one I want." He whispered between kisses. Ingrid turned back to him, and not knowing what to say she kissed him. Once again he laid her down on the bed they kissed for a long time in a gentle slow manner till Fili began to move one hand along her body, running across her breast and the flat of the stomach to the junction of her thighs. Her heart was racing and her chest was tight and for a moment she did not think she could open her legs to his exploring hand but then somewhat in spite of herself she parted her legs. Fili deepened the kiss as his fingers moved over her sex. She almost screamed from just his light touches. After several minutes or what might have been hours Fili seemed to think she was ready for him. As Fili positioned himself between her legs Ingrid thought that her heart was going to explode in her chest. He paused and looked into Ingrid's eyes. Fili looked so sure of himself yet she could still feel him trembling just as much as she was.

"Are you sure you're ready for this. It may hurt." He cautioned. She nodded unable to find the words to say anything. Fili pressed his lips to hers as he entered her. Ingrid's eyes flew open wide at the sensation, she waited for the pain to come but none did as Fili settled himself to the hilt inside her. Where she had expected to feel pain she felt only pleasure. He stayed very still for a moment.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked as he softly as he kissed her brow.

"No." She whispered as she reached up and caressed his face. "Please Fili, I want you." That seemed to be all the invitation he needed. Fili began to move in a slow steady rhythm, Ingrid threw her head back at the sensation. She wrapped her arms around Fili's neck and started kissing him more wildly then she ever had before. Fili slipped a hand under her back while the other grabbed ahold of her hip. His thrust became less controlled the longer he was inside her and Ingrid couldn't help but moan in pleasure, time seemed to melt away and all that was real was Fili. Soon it was hard for her to tell where he ended and she began. Ingrid felt tears of joy fill her eyes and before she could stop herself she said,

"Fili, I love you. I've never stopped loving you."

"Ingrid," was all she heard for the next moment waves of ecstasy rolled over her, far away she heard Fili reach his climax as well. Ingrid's mind went completely blank and the next thing she knew she was lying on Fili's chest listening to his still pounding heart and ragged breathing. To her it was the most wonderful sound in the world. Fili had his arms wrapped around her with one hand gently running up and down the length of her spine. Ingrid could feel his seed running down her thigh and a part of her feared that their union would result in a child but that seemed like such a remote possibility that she let that worry slip from her mind. Once his heart rate slowed down she lifted her head up to look at him.

"I meant what I said earlier." She whispered to him. Fili opened his eyes and looked over at her.

"Then say it again." He whispered back.

"I love you Fili." He gave her a tiered half smile.

"I love you too Ingrid." She gave him a light peck on the lips before snuggling back down against his chest. And, for a moment she forgot about the quest and all the worries she had. Ingrid closed her eyes and fell asleep for the first time in a very long time with no worries on her mind.


	8. Chapter 8

Ingrid woke the next morning to the feeling of Fili's arms wrapped tight around her and the feel of his breathe against her back. It took her a moment to remember what had happened but when she did a smile broke out on her face. Ingrid carefully rolled over to face Fili, fortunately she didn't wake him in the process. She smiled when she saw him sleeping there. His golden hair a total mess but he looked so peaceful. Ingrid gently brushed the hair from his face and gave him a light kiss of the forehead. This caused him to stir in his sleep and snuggle closer to her, as he did he nestled his face into her breast. Ingrid felt a mixture of laughter and embracement well up inside her. In the end should couldn't help but giggle a little which woke Fili. He opened up his pale green eyes and smiled up at her.

"Good morning." She whispered as she stroked his hair. He buried his face back into her bosom with a soft groan of protest.

"No it's not morning yet." Fili mumbled. Ingrid laughed and pushed away from him and sat up but before she could get out of bed Fili pulled her back down. Causing Ingrid to let out a squeak of surprise.

"We can spend a few more minutes like this." Fili protested as he held Ingrid firmly in bed. Ingrid struggled to get lose but he held her firmly in place, logic would get her out of this one not brute strength.

"Come on we need to get up and get out there before anyone notices that we spent the night together." Ingrid reminded him. To this Fili let out another moan of protest and only held onto her tighter nuzzling his face against her back. Ingrid let out a burst of laughter, she couldn't help it, his mustache and beard tickled her.

"Stop that." She gasped. Fili let go of her for only a moment so he could get above her.

"What you mean this." He began a furious onslaught against her. Ingrid laughed and pleaded for him to stop. Fili finally stopped only when Ingrid accidentally kicked him in the gut causing him to double over.

"Oh I'm sorry. But I did tell you to stop." It took Fili a moment to regain his breath.

"It's alright. I guess I kind of disserved it." They both laughed and exchanged a quick kiss before getting out of bed. It took Ingrid and Fili a few minutes to find all their clothes as most of them had been hastily thrown around the room. Once they were both dressed they slipped out of the room. Thankfully no one was in the hall and they were able to find the others easily enough. They were all sitting out in a courtyard eating breakfast. Ingrid found a seat next to Glóin and Nori while Fili sat down next to Kili and Thorin. As soon as Fili sat down Kili put an elbow into his ribs.

"Well look who it is, you seem to have a bit more of a spring in your step this morning, I wonder why that is brother." Kili said looking as smug as ever.

"Guess you could say I had a good night." Fili shot back. He had expected this from Kili, being brothers they could usually pick up on any subtle change that had happened to the other. The person he was worried about was Thorin. Fili wasn't sure how his uncle would take to him and Ingrid having sex while on this quest. Fili turned to the rather simple meal the elves had laid out for them and began to eat. Once breakfast was eaten the company began to look for ways to amuse themselves. They planned on staying in Rivendell until dawn the next day to have time to resupply and gather their strength. As the company wandered around Dori discovered a massive waterfall fountain. The whole company needed a bath and to say the least befouling the elfs beautifully constructed water fountain with their very dirty dwarf bodies was too good of an offer to pass up. The company was soon undressing and diving into the fountain. Even Thorin joined his men for the fun. Bombur had run off to the kitchens to get food and wine while the rest began to enjoy the pools. Fili had just gotten in when Ingrid showed up and began to pull off her boots. Horrified Fili swam over to where she was undressing.

"What are you doing." He hissed at her. She only laughed as she continued to remove her boots and belt.

"Joining the company. They've all seen me naked before. Now stop fretting or someone will notice." She said with a wink. True to her word she pulled off ever stitch of her clothing she had on. Fili had no choice but to endure it, looking her up and down as she folded her clothes he noticed that she had removed the bandages from her arm. The skin beneath was still red and healing but miles better than what it had been the day before. Most of the company hardly seemed to care that Ingrid was there or the fact that they were all naked in front of her. Ingrid didn't get in the pool right away as Fili had expected her too, instead she climbed up onto one of the ledges and jumped into the water. She landed with a loud splash and came up laughing. Fili couldn't help but notice the way her water droplet ran down her body, in some ways he wished he could pick her up and take her back to his room and have his way with her but now was not the time. He also disliked that the rest of the company was now privy to seeing her bare skin after what they had done the night before she was his and even if he knew there was no threat from the rest of the company to steal her away he couldn't help but feel protective of her.

"Fili." Kili shouted at him, "Come here." Fili joined his brother and several others who were about to start a match of chicken fights. Soon there was nothing but fun and laughter to be had. Even Ingrid joined in a few of the matches climbing up on Bofur's shoulders she sent Kili, Fili, and Dwalin flying backwards. Bofur continued to hold her up as he paraded her around the fountain as the undefeated champion. The company laughed and cheered, Fili gave Kili a look and then snuck up behind Ingrid and Bofur grabbed ahold of Ingrid's arms and pulled her down into the water. They all came up sputtering and laughing, Fili couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun.

Later that night the company sat around a fire they had built from bits of broken furniture they had "found" in one of the elf rooms. The company had also taken this opportunity to wash out their clothes that now were strewn around the fire to dry. Fili sat leaning against the far wall smoking his pipe as Bofur roasted a sausage and Bifur tried to roast some of the greens the elves had given them hoping that it would give it some sort of flavor. The whole of the company felt at ease here, even though it was an elf palace they could relax and not have to worry about being attacked in the night. Fili took another drag from his pipe as he saw Ingrid get up grab her dried clothes, bid everyone good night, and walk towards the hall. Before she left she gave Fili a long stare that seemed to say follow me. He decided that it would be better to wait a few minutes before going after her, just to try and keep most of the company in the dark. The minutes dragged by as he continued to smoke his pipe. After what he felt was a good amount of time he tapped out his pipe, stood up collect his clothes and said good night as well. Kili gave him an all knowing look which Fili promptly ignored as he walked out of the room.

It was a relatively short walk to his room from the balcony that held their fire. Fili felt his heart start to beat faster as he got closer. _Calm down Fili. You've already been with her there's nothing to be worried about. _He reached the door and gave it a light knock.

"Who is it?" Said the voice within.

"Fili." He called back then came an agonizingly long pause that left Fili fidgeting. _Is she trying to get us caught?_

"Come in." She finally answered. He opened the door and almost dropped his clothes at the sight that lay before him. Ingrid was lying on the bed with only her jacket on and her hair unbound. The fur lined collar was part wide enough to expose part of her breasts and was draped back across her thigh in the most seductive manner. Her auburn waves tumbled across her shoulder and framed her face.

"Are you going to close the door?" She asked in a silky seductive voice. Fili slammed the door shut, blotted it and dropped his clothes in a pile in a matter of moments. Ingrid stood up and began to walk towards him, he couldn't help but notice the way she was swinging her hips as she moved. Once she reached him she gave him a soft kiss. When she pulled away he saw that she was blushing.

"Why are you blushing?" He asked still in slight shock that the relatively timid dwarf he had deflowered the night before was standing in front of him looking like this.

"I wanted to make tonight special, seeing as we don't know when we might get a chance to be alone again for a while." She ran her hands along his chest, "It was silly wasn't it."

"No you look amazing I just…wow." She smiled at that but still blushed. _She's so cute when she blushes._ He reached out and kissed her again. Then one kiss turned to a hundred and before long they were in bed. After their third or fourth go Fili flopped back on the bed exhausted and covered in sweat. He knew that dwarf maids could be ravenous in the bedroom but Ingrid was going to test his limits at the rate they were going. Ingrid playfully lay on top of him running a finger across his chest.

"Feeling tiered my love." She whispered in a coy tone. Fili looked at her, he honestly didn't know where she found the energy to want more but he wasn't going to complain about it.

"Not at all. I just needed a moment." Ingrid continued to trace a pattern across his chest as a chuckle escaped her. They lay there for several moments in silence when she spoke,

"Fili, what do you think the company would think about us if they found out?" He paused and thought about it.

"I'm not sure. I think it depends on when we tell them. Kili already suspects but he won't tell anyone." Fili ran his fingers through her auburn hair and continued. "I mean I think if we tell them after we retake Erebor they be fine with it. Most will probably be excited for us to be honest."

"And Thorin?" She asked softly, Fili continued to stare at the ceiling.

"If we tell him after we take back the mountain he'll most likely give us his blessing. After all I am his heir and well even an heir needs heirs." Ingrid nodded and lay there quietly for a moment. Fili wondered what she was thinking about. He suspected it was of the future and of their life after Erebor. It was the first time he had really thought about it either, the thought of wedding her and possibly children one day. Traditionally dwarves tended to not waist time with long courtship before marriage and though they were breaking tradition he won't have changed this for the world. Ingrid pulled him from his thought when she said,

"I suppose you're right." She sat up and straddled Fili. "Fili I want to tell you that you've made me happier than I've ever been before in my life. I've always felt like there was a war going on inside me, a constant struggle between the warrior and the maiden but now because of you I feel whole." Fili smiled and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I love you." He whispered in khuzdul. Ingrid smiled and returned the statement.

"Now let's stop worrying about the future. Tonight we are going to live." She said before sealing his lips with a kiss. They spent the rest of the night making love but come the dawn they were dressed and ready to move out with the rest of the company. Neither of them had gotten so much as a wink of sleep during the night and Fili could tell it was going to be one long day.

It was later that night and Ingrid was sitting by the fire eating supper feeling absolutely exhausted. After a long day of marching on no sleep the night before Ingrid was ready to pass out. It was just when she was about to curl up for the night when Thorin walked over to her. She sat up a little straighter when she realized he was headed right for her.

"Ingrid, come with me." He said in a serious tone. There was no way she was going to refuse him so she stood up and walked alongside him out of the camp. Ingrid had to admit that she was nervous, she had never spent any time alone with Thorin and had no idea why he wanted to talk to her now. They walked for a time in silence till they were a fair distance away from the camp and no one would be able to over here their conversation. Thorin stopped abruptly and looked at Ingrid.

"I'm not a fool Ingrid." He said in cool manner. Ingrid was confused by this.

"Thorin?" His eyes seemed to pierce right through her. She felt that there was nothing that she could hide from him.

"I see the way my nephew looks at you. And the way you look at him." Ingrid's heart started pounding in her chest and a cold sweat broke out down her back. _He knows! He's going to punish me._ Ingrid didn't say anything in the pause that Thorin left for her. She wasn't sure if he wanted her to try and deny her feelings or confirm his suspicions, so she remained silent.

"You no doubt have heard the rumors about me. The ones that are whispered about a lost princess." Ingrid gave a short nod, her heart was still racing in her chest. "Well they are true." Ingrid was completely surprised that Thorin had revealed such a person detail to her of all people.

"I had no idea the rumors were true." She said softly not knowing what else to say. Thorin scoffed and looked up at the moon that was shining above them.

"How could you." He seemed to be lost in memory for a long moment. "She was everything to me my treasure above all. With hair like spun gold and eyes like sapphires and she was to be my queen. Our engagement was to be announced the night of Smaug's attack. I found her in the chaos. I promised her everything would be alright, I told her I would protect her. And I watched her become engulfed in dragon flame." Ingrid couldn't believe what she was hearing. Thorin face showed a pain that she had never seen before.

"When I look at Fili," he continued still gazing at the moon, "I see the son I might have had if fate had been kinder." Thorin then turned his eyes to Ingrid, even under the hardness and sadness that his eyes possessed there was a kindness there that she had only seen him show to his nephews before.

"I don't want Fili to live with the same regrets that I have." Thorin placed a hand on Ingrid's shoulder. "So keep yourself safe and someday you may become a queen." Ingrid stood there in complete and total shock she didn't know what to say. Thorin's words were still sinking in as he turned to leave.

"Thorin?" She called after him. He paused and looked over his shoulder at her. "What was her name?" Ingrid asked softly. Thorin let out a heavy sigh then spoke,

"Freya, her name was Freya."


	9. Chapter 9

The company continued their march east deeper into the misty mountains. They were two weeks out of Rivendell when they came to base of the mountains. Thorin told the company to make camp for the night, tomorrow they would start the climb up the mountains. Ingrid set down her pack and looked around. The company had stopped on the edge of a dense forest, Which gave Ingrid an idea. She picked up her bow and headed towards Kili. Ingrid found him unloading his own pack not too far away.

"We should do some hunting before we head up the mountain." Kili smiled at the idea.

"Sounds like a good idea to me, who knows when we'll get fresh meat again." Kili picked up his bow and quiver. They informed Thorin where they were headed and he agreed it would be wise to get their strength up before the climb tomorrow. Ingrid and Kili set off into the forest. They stalked through the forest, walking slowly for searching the forest floor for a sign of game. But even as they did Ingrid found her mind wondering, her focus more on the events that had transpired and still have yet to happen on the quest rather than her game. She knew that she should be terrified every day the hunting party of those filthy orc were getting closer to the, but in a sick way Ingrid felt alive. Before this she had never even left the Blue Mountains and now she was at the base of the Misty Mountains something she had only heard about. _Soon we'll be at Erebor_.

"So," Kili said, "you and my brother." Ingrid felt her face flush at the mention.

"Yes so?" Ingrid said defensively, Kili shrugged as he crouched down to look at some deer tracks.

"Nothing, don't worry about me telling anyone. If anything I'm happy for you two. Fili was getting to mopey lately anyway." Ingrid grinned at Kili's comment and looked at the tracks then began to follow them.

"When did you figure it out?" She whispered as they headed towards the sound of running water. A stream would be the easiest place to start the hunt for game.

"I've suspected ever since you two saw each other in Bag End." He moved silently beside her. "When you two were younger you were always sneaking off together thinking you were sneaky, which you were not. Everything I thought since we were kids was confirmed at Rivendell. Fili was practically skipping that morning. And, you seemed to be a little rosier in the cheeks as well." Ingrid flushed again at that. They closed in on the stream and saw a beautiful buck standing by the water's edge. They were downwind of him and the noise of the water helped cover their movements. Ingrid gave Kili and nod and began to creep forward, she stayed low in the brush moving in for a closer shot. Her heart began to beat faster, she knew this feeling, the thrill of the hunt. Ingrid moved within fifty yards of the buck. She sat crouched low to the ground and drew an arrow. She only had one shot to take him down or he would bolt and spoke any other prey that was in the woods. The buck turned broadside to her, this was her chance. Ingrid pulled the arrow back to her cheek and took a few deep breaths to steady her hand. Then she stood up and let the arrow fly. It hissed through the air and caught the buck through the lungs, a prefect shot. The buck reeled and bolted, she wasn't worried though he wasn't going to get far with that wound.

"Nice shot." Kili called from behind her. Ingrid looked back at him with a smile. Kili came up to her and she slapped a hand of his back.

"Let's go find him." They set off again into the woods following the trail of blood that the buck had left as it ran, they found it dead two hundred feet from where Ingrid had shot it. He was a beautiful prize but Ingrid was made happier that the company would eat well that night. She set to work gutting him while Kili found a long branch to tie him to. Ingrid had no intention on completing the cleaning there, but at least gutting him would lighten their load. Once the animal was gutted they tied his legs up to the branch and hoisted the branch onto their shoulders. The walk back took them significantly longer but that was to be expected when they had a buck to worry about.

"We're back." Ingrid shouted once they were able to see the camp. Several heads turned to see them carrying their prize. Some of the members gave a whoop of joy at the sight of the buck. Ingrid and Kili hadn't made it all the way back into the camp when most the members came up to help them carry in the buck.

"Let me guess Kili is the one that got this beauty." Dwalin said confidently. Before Ingrid had a chance to tell him otherwise Kili spoke up,

"No it was Ingrid." Dwalin looked a little surprised but then smiled and smacked her on the back laughing loudly.

"Honestly lass I don't know why some lad hasn't snagged you up already." Ingrid laughed and responded.

"Because they know I'll knock their ass in the dirt." _And I'm already taken. _Dwalin and the rest of the company laughed and she even saw Fili crack a smile.

"Come on lads this beast isn't going to cook himself." Dwalin said with another laugh. Bombur and Bofur descended on the animal and began to butcher it with expert speed. Ingrid took a seat by the fire and leaned back, the sun had just set when the first bits of venison were passed around. Ingrid and Kili were given the first portions of their prices as a reward for hunting it down. The meat was rich and flavorful and Ingrid enjoyed every bit of the buck while sitting around with the company. After they had finished eating the whole company sat around just enjoying the night, Balin even started to sing a bit. Ingrid looked at what was left of their wood pile and stood up.

"I'm going to get more fire wood." She said and turned and headed back into the forest. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness but soon she could see without a problem. Besides just getting wood for the fire tonight they would need to carry fire wood with them up into the mountains. So taking the opportunity now to gather as much as they could was a wise. As she picked up some fallen branches she heard a twig snap behind her. In a flash she had her sword half way drawn. To her surprise it was Fili headed towards her.

"Fili." She said with a sigh of relief sheathing her sword. "Next time say something before you sneak up on me."

"Sorry to scare you but I wanted to get a moment alone with you." He crossed over to her and entwined his fingers with hers. Fili reached a hand up to caress her face and bring her into a kiss. Ingrid welcomed the feeling of his lips on hers then he pushed her against the nearest tree deepening their kiss. She broke the kiss in need of air but that didn't stop Fili as he moved to kissing her neck.

"Fili, stop, what if someone finds us?" He hardly seemed to hear her at all.

"I can't stand this. Being so close to you but never able to touch you." He whispered into her ear. "Ingrid, please." Ingrid couldn't deny she had missed his touch as much he had been missed hers.

"Alright but we have to be quick." Fili began to quickly tug off some of her clothes. Ingrid didn't know why but there was something thrilling about this. _Could it be the thrill of the possibility of getting caught?_ She felt mortified at the thought of anyone but Fili seeing her like this but her body seemed to want more. Ingrid also could not imagine if someone from the company caught them in the middle of the act. It didn't take them long to finish their incredibly rushed love making but all the same it had been amazing. They pulled their clothes back on and picked up the fire wood. As she and Fili made their way back to the camp she asked,

"What did you tell everyone that you were doing?" He smiled and said,

"I told them I was coming to help you and watch your back." Fili bent over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. She smiled at him,

"It's hard to believe that we are really doing this." Fili nodded in agreement.

"It is but I wouldn't change it for the world." Ingrid beamed at this hearing Fili say that helped to lay all her worries to rest. In her heart she knew that she loved Fili but there were parts of their future together that frightened her. If the made it to Erebor, beat Smaug and took back the mountain Fili would become a true prince. And, if they survived all of that and were wed she would become a princess. The thought of maybe one day helping Fili rule all of Erebor terrified her. She knew that many obstacles lay between them and that future but Ingrid still couldn't help but worry about it. When they made it back to the camp no one made any comment on where they had been or what they had been up to thankfully. They placed the wood by the fire and returned to their respective spots around the fire. They woke at dawn the next morning. None of the company seemed to be any wiser about what they had really done the night before. It wasn't long before they broke down camp and began the climb up the mountain. The Misty Mountains were going to be the longest part of their journey. With any luck they would make it to the other side of the mountains by the end of summer which would give them just enough time to reach the Lonely Mountain by Durin's day.


	10. Chapter 10

The rain pounded against Ingrid's head and the wind ripped at her cloak. As she walked the wind continually blew her hood off of her head causing her braid whip wildly about her. After the fourth time of having her hood ripped from her head she gave up on it and tucked her braid into her tunic. It was all she could do to stay on the narrow rock ledge. They had been traveling through the Misty Mountains for just over a month and were over three quarters of the way across. This storm had taken their steady pace and slowed it to a crawl. Ingrid was standing next to Bilbo and Dori as they trudged along the narrow path. A clap of thunder exploded over head making Bilbo suddenly lose his footing along the path. Ingrid and Dwalin both grabbed ahold of the hobbit pulling him back from the cliff edge. Just as they had gotten Bilbo onto his feet a massive boulder came flying from the torrent of rain and wind. Ingrid pressed herself to the cliff face as the boulder exploded above them sending large cobbles raining down on them. No one was hit but the ledge had been made even narrow at certain points thanks to the falling rubble.

"This is no thunder storm." Balin screamed into the wind. "It's a thunder battle." Just then she saw a stone giant come out of the storm hurling another giant boulder. Ingrid couldn't believe her eyes, she had heard the legends as a child but most people had said they were just fairy stories.

"The legends are true! Giants! Stone Giants!" Bofur yelled as he stared at the beasts. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble. Ingrid looked up to see the mountain coming alive above her, she then realized that they were standing on the knee of one of the giants. The company was split apart by the sudden movement. Bilbo, Fili, and several others all were jerked away from them. She cried out as the beast stepped forward only to be smashed in the head by one of its own kind. The giant toppled backwards slamming the knee she was on back into the path.

"Move!" Thorin screamed. The others ahead of her leapt off, Ingrid only barely made it across when the giant took another step forward. She watched helplessly as Fili and the others swung past her eyes. The giant was attacked again this time the blow was fatal and its head came flying off, tumbling downward into the darkness below. Ingrid watched in horror as its body crashed into the mountain side with Fili and the others still on it. The world seemed to slow as she watched the giants' knee smash into the path. Ingrid let out a scream at the sight. The giants' body crumbled down to the valley floor as Thorin ran around the cliff edge to look for survivors.

"They're alive. All of them are alive." She heard someone yell back as she made her way along the cliff. Ingrid felt a moment of relief before she heard,

"Where's Bilbo?"

"Where's the Hobbit?" Ingrid looked frantically around her when she heard a small voice.

"Down here!" She looked over the edge to see Bilbo dangling off the cliff side. Dori and Bofur both threw themselves to the ground reaching for the hobbit. Ingrid grabbed a hold of one of Doris legs to make sure he didn't fall. The next thing she saw was Thorin going over the cliff side and Bilbo coming up. Dwalin then lunged down and pulled Thorin back up.

"That was close we almost lost our burglar." Dori said happily. Thorin turned on the hobbit.

"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should have never joined us." Ingrid looked at Thorin in surprise. Though the hobbit was no dwarf he had shown courage to make it this far. Thorin looked at the cliff face then disappeared inside what she guessed was a cave. Ingrid followed the rest inside and was thankful to be out of the wind and rain. Thorin looked at her and said,

"Check it out. The caves in the mountains are seldom unoccupied." Ingrid nodded and found a lantern. She supposed she should be glad that Thorin trusted her enough to have her search the cave. The cave was a realtively small with the back of it with easily within site of the cave entrance. She was relieved that it wasn't any deeper the last thing they needed was any side passages leading to have to explore and watch when they were all so tired.

"There's no one here." She shouted back. The rest of the company was already starting to set up camp. Ingrid came back to the rest of them pulling off her dripping cloak.

"All right let's get a fire goin'." Glóin prompted.

"No, no fires." Thorin said. Ingrid wasn't sure what had made him so suspicious but she trusted his instincts. "Get some sleep. We start at first light. Bofur, take the first watch." Ingrid rolled out her blanket and tried to find the most comfortable position she could. As she situated herself she watched Kili embrace Fili. She had guessed that he would Fili had almost died and that fact was all too real for both her and Kili of how dangerous this quest truly was. Ingrid tugged the blanket up to her chin and wished she could go over there and embrace him too but not now, not with the company watching. She closed her eyes fell asleep feeling the weight of sleep wash over her. She had been moving for so long that she didn't realize how tired she had been.

"Wake up." She heard Thorin yelling. Ingrid half sat up only to feel the floor drop out from under her. She screamed as she tumbled into the darkness crashing into a stone floor and sliding along a tunnel. She could hear the other members yelling as well, Ingrid tried to claw at the walls but the stones were smooth with no place to grab. Just when she thought the tunnel would never end she flew out into an open area and crashed into some kind of giant wooden basket. Before she could get to her feet another member of the company landed on top of her one after another. Then she heard it, the shrieking, _goblins_. The whole thing had been a trap. The company began to right itself as goblins swarmed around them. Of all the creatures in middle earth only orcs beat out goblins for the things Ingrid hated most. One particularly ugly goblin grabbed at Ingrid and she punched it in the face breaking its jaw and spending it sprawling to the ground. As she looked around more and more goblins appeared grasping at her and grabbing at her arms. There were too many of the goblins to fight and the company was force through sheer power in numbers across a rickety bridge to Durin knew what.

This however didn't stop her from struggling, she punch and kicked whenever a goblin got to careless about shielding itself from her fist. Even through all the chaos she found a slight bit of pleasure in cracking the skulls of her captors together. As they moved along the goblins pulled away every weapon they could get their hands on leaving the dwarves with only their fists. The goblin tunnels were foul to say the least, their captures pushed them along till they came before the biggest goblin she had ever seen. He was a mass of suet and grotesqueness with what she assumed was a crown placed atop his head. The goblins herded the dwarves into a tight circle before their king. As they shoved the dwarves around Ingrid was knocked into Fili. Everyone else was focused on the goblin king so Ingrid seized the chance and quickly grabbed Fili's hands and squeezing them. He seemed to understand and squeezed her hands back.

After a very brief conversation the goblin king ordered his minions to search them. One goblin grabbed ahold of Ingrid's braid pulling her away from Fili. Then two more goblins swarmed around her searching her, one actually grabbed her breast and she kicked the foul thing back sending it off the edge of the platform and out of site. This went unnoticed as another uglier goblin stepped up and continued searching her. After they had been searched the goblins came to the conclusion that they were working with elves thanks to Nori lifting a few "keepsakes" from Rivendell. The goblin king exclaimed to his people that torturing them would be a wonderful site and he pointed at Ori stating that the youngest will be first. Thorin stepped forward at that moment the goblin king recognized Thorin and mocked him openly. The goblin king revealed that Azog the defiler was alive and had put a price on Thorin's head. Though the goblins would still have their fun, and torture the company before they took Thorin's head. The goblin king began to sing another atrocious song as they brought up a torturer machine. Ingrid feared there was no hope of escaping.

"I know that sword!" the goblin king shrieked. "It's the goblin cleaver! The blade that sliced a thousand necks! Kill them! Kill them all!" The goblins were whipped into a frenzy they lashed at every dwarf they could reach. Ingrid felt a flail crack across her back, it seemed her death would come much sooner than she had planned when an explosion of white light enveloped them. Goblin and dwarf a like where thrown to the ground. When the light faded Ingrid looked up to see Gandalf standing there with sword and staff in hand.

"Take up arms." He said and the dwarves all moved. Weapons began to fly through the air. Ingrid saw one of Filis' twin blades and grabbed it up.

"Fili!" She yelled and tossed the sword to him. Ingrid saw her bow and quiver and grabbed them up slinging them across her back. She heard her own name as Nori threw her sword to her. Everything became a blur to her, she ran with the rest of the company slicing at any goblin that came in reach of her. Instinct took over at that point and she was one with her sword again. The company ran through the tunnels, across rope bridges and uneven platforms. Then when it looked like they were going to make it out the goblin king dropped down from above.

"What are you going to do now wizard?" He challenged. Gandalf did not respond he merely attacked the great pile of suet slicing him across the belly then throat. When the great beast collapsed the bridge they were standing on gave way. The whole company screamed as they flew down the crevasse. Ingrid clung to the scaffolding as they crashed down the rock face. Then the scaffolding came to an abrupt halt cracking and splintering under the force of impact. Rumble and broken bits of scaffolding landed on top of her but she felt fine, for the most part any way. There was no way she wasn't going to be covered in bruises the next day.

"Well that could have been worse." Bofur said only to have the corpse of the goblin king smash into them the next moment. _For Durins' sake_. Ingrid thought as she began to try and pull herself free of the debris. She felt a hand grab her and pull her out the rest of the way, to her surprise it was Thorin who had pulled her free.

"Only one thing will safe us, daylight." She heard Gandalf say. "Run." Ingrid looked up for a moment and saw hundreds of goblins climbing down towards them. They ran ahead down the tunnel. The goblins were still hot on their trail, Ingrid stopped thinking and just kept running. The company flew through the tunnel till ahead she saw it daylight, sweet beautiful daylight. They burst from the cave onto the slopes of the Misty Mountains and didn't stop running till they were half way down and far away from the cave. She leaned against a pine tree to catch her breath. When Gandalf yelled,

"Where is our hobbit?" It was the first time that Ingrid had even thought about Bilbo since they had been captured, she looked around at the rest of the company. Bickering broke out amongst the company on who had been with Bilbo. Nori divulged that he thought he saw Bilbo slip away when the goblins first grabbed them. Thorin said what everyone had on their mind that Bilbo had run and was long gone. Ingrid saw a piece of hope fade from the company for without their burglar how could they retake Erebor.

"No he's not." Ingrid's head snapped in the direction of the voice to see Bilbo Baggins standing in front of them. A sigh of relief escaped from Ingrid as the company began to question Bilbo as to how he escaped. Gandalf shrugged off the matter but Thorin wouldn't let it go,

"It matter's. I want to know, why did you come back?" The hobbit stood for a moment then spoke. His answer couldn't have been more perfect, Ingrid could have kissed the Halfling then and there for what he said. He was a far braver soul then any of them, even she, had given him credit for. Ingrid felt elated at that moment, and then the howls of wargs ripped the moment to pieces.

"Out of the frying pan." Thorin lamented.

"And into the fire." Gandalf finished. "Run. Run!" Just when Ingrid thought they would have a moment's reprieve they were being hunted again.


	11. Chapter 11

The company sprinted down the mountain side. Ingrid could hear the wargs closing in behind them. Her heart pounding as a warg leapt out in front of her stopping her on the spot. Ingrid had her sword at the ready as beast stood before her snarling ready to strike, it lowered itself into a pouncing position then lunged. She dodged to the side and brought her sword across in a side cut ripping the warg along the flank. As she spun to attack again she saw Fili and Kili drive their swords into its throat and slashing outwards finishing it off. Ingrid turned and saw another warg being taken down by Thorin, Balin and Dwalin. Fili and Kili were past her when she turned to run. They saw Glóin and Óin had stopped ahead which meant only one thing, there was nowhere left to run, just then Gandalf spoke,

"Up the trees, quickly!" Fili helped Kili vault into the nearest pine then followed suit. He saw Ingrid headed towards them and hung upside down on one of the branches. She leaped forward grasping for his hand, he used her momentum to flip her up into the tree. Ingrid climbed higher with Fili hot on her heels. Fili checked to see that both Ingrid and Kili were save when he heard a voice. He turned and saw the pale orc, Azog the Defiler. Fili felt his heart stop at the sight of him, all his life he had heard the stories of the pale orc astride a white warg but never in his wildest nightmares had he ever thought he would face the creature first hand. Fili felt a white hot anger burn with in him at the sight of the befouled orc. Fili thought of all of the members of his family that had died at the pale orcs hands. His great-grandfather, grandfather, uncle and even his own father had all died battling against Azog and his armies. The orc spoke in black speech, which seemed to resonated all around them though Fili couldn't understand what was being sad. He looked to his uncle, who wore an expression of pure hatred and disgust that the vile thing still lived. Azog bellowed a command and his wargs charged the company, leaping and snapping at them. The wargs ripped away the branches they latched onto hitting the trees with such force Fili almost lost his balance. Then he saw the first tree go, falling, slamming into the next. The members of the company that had been in the first tree leapt into the next but that tree too began to fall.

"Get ready to jump!" Fili yelled to Ingrid and Kili. The next tree slammed into their and they jumped ahead, there was only one tree left. The one they had just jumped into began to go and the company made the leap into the finally tree. Fili prayed that it would stand and to his relief it did. The wargs still attacked furiously leaping and biting trying to get hold of anyone who fell into their reach. Just then he saw something go flying out of the pine, something on fire. It landed amongst the fallen trees setting them alight. The wargs recoiled from the flames.

"Fili!" He heard Gandalf say as the wizard dropped a flaming pine cone down to him. He caught it and looked for who was near him.

"Bilbo get another one." The hobbit grabbed up a pine cone and Fili used his own to light Bilbo's. He threw his own down at the wargs and soon the whole company was firing flaming pine cones at the wargs.

"Taste the fire of the dwarves." Bifur yelled in khuzdul. The wargs turned and ran from the flames, a few had even been set on fire. A frustrate roar from Azog made Fili let out a cheer as the wargs continued to retreat, he heard the other members of the company cheering as well. But the victory was short lived as the tree began to jerk back towards the edge. The tree gave way and fell only to jerk to a stop and then fall again. The pine was almost flat with the ground when it halted, Fili looked over to see that both Kili and Ingrid were still holding on to the tree. As Fili fought to pull himself up, Thorin stood and began to walk down the tree sword and oak branch in hand towards Azog. Fili watched his uncle charge Azog, never in his life had been more fearful for or inspired by Thorin. The white warg leapt at Thorin knocking him to the ground. Azog turned to charge Thorin again, Thorin had only just gotten back to his feet when the orc smashed him across the chest with his mace. Fili scrambled to pull himself up as he saw the warg snap its jaws down on Thorins' arm tearing the oak branch Thorin was using as a shield from him. Fili screamed at the sight of Thorin being thrown about, he heard the rest of the company yelling and struggling to regain themselves to help their king. Fili struggled harder, grasping at each branch to gather a better hold to get him up. As he did he looked up to see that Bilbo had regained his footing and was charging down the trunk of the tree to Thorin's aid. Fili pulled himself onto the tree trunk as the hobbit charged towards Thorin.

Fili pulled Kili up onto the trunk then Ingrid who seemed to be almost up herself. Others were almost all up as well. Fili leapt off the tree with his swords in hand leading the charge towards the wargs that had started to close in around Bilbo. He was going to save his uncle and the hobbit. Azog would not take another member of his family away from him. The dwarves collided with the wargs broad side slashing and hammering at every inch of warg and orc they could reach. Fili stuck down an orc rider with his twin blades before the dwarves moved into a circle to protect each other, they were still heavily outnumbered. The wargs began to encircle them when a scream pierced the night. It was no warg scream though, and it was nothing that any of them had heard before. Fili looked up and saw the biggest eagles he had ever seen in his life circling overhead. They flew into the encampment, their sharp talons tearing into the wargs hides and hurling them over the cliffs side. It was all Fili could do to stay out of the way. The wargs and orcs were no match for the swiftness of the eagles. Then he saw one of the eagles swoop in and grabbed Thorin gingerly plucking him up in its talons. He watched helplessly as the eagle flew away with Thorin when Kili grabbed his arm. Fili had just enough time to turn and see an eagle grab Ingrid up. Before he had time to think about what was happening to her, Kili and he where lifted up the ground by a pair of massive talons. Fili yelled in alarm as Kili and himself were dropped from the first eagles' talons onto a different eagles back that had flown bellow them.

Fili got his bearing's as quickly as he could and began to search for Thorin. He saw the eagle that still held his uncle in its talons. He yelled to him but Thorin made no response. The eagles carried them higher into the sky and over the misty mountains. Fili had never dreamed of flying the feel of the cold air against his face as the world stretched out below him. He and Kili both clung to the eagle, dwarves were not made for flying and it unnerved them greatly. Fili then looked around at the rest of the company. He saw Bofur pull Bifur back down as the slightly mad dwarf had tried to stand up. Then he saw Ingrid she was gazing around her in wonderment. Her long braid snapped behind her as she looked over at Fili. He couldn't believe it but she was smiling. They flew for almost the entire day, out of the misty mountains and towards the rising east. Just when Fili thought he couldn't take any more the eagles began to fly lower into a valley and towards and massive crag that jutted up in the middle of the valley. Thorin was the first to be set down followed by Gandalf. The wizard ran to him as the rest of the company landed. Fili jumped off his eagle, never more thankful to be on solid ground. He and Kili ran up the crag towards Thorin. _Please let him be alright. For Durins' sake let him be alright. _The wizard stood over his uncle, Fili reached him just as Gandalf spoke,

"He's alright, Bilbo's here." Thorin began to struggle to his feet Kili and Dwalin each grabbed one of his arms to help him up. Fili stood by in case Thorin needed him but he seemed to be even more agitated than normal. He shrugged off Dwalin and Kili, Fili knew it was because Thorin didn't want to be seen as weak in front of the company. Thorin then turned on the hobbit,

"You. What were you doing? You nearly got yourself killed." Bilbo looked stunned unsure what to do. Fili thought that Thorin was being too hard on the hobbit. If it hadn't been for Bilbo they never would have been able to save him. Thorin continued to berate the hobbit closing in on him. Bilbo took a step backwards but there was nowhere for him to go. Then to every one's surprise Thorin embraced the hobbit telling him he had never been more wrong in all his life. The dwarves cheered for their king and for their burglar. Fili smiled proudly at his uncle when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Ingrid standing next to him, her cheeks were still red from flying and her hair was wild from the wind but her smile had never been more beautiful to him. Fili heard the beating of wings and turned to watch the eagles fly away, one let out a scream as the soared off into the sky. Though flying was not Fili's idea of enjoyable he would never forget what the eagles had done for them. If the eagles had not come the company would have certainly been doomed.

"Is that what I think it is?" Bilbo asked. The company turned and saw Bilbo and Thorin walking up the crag towards the north east. Fili and the rest joined them and there they saw it. A single peak standing alone against the sunset sky. His heart leapt at the sight of the mountain.

"Erebor, the lonely mountain. The last of the of the great dwarf kingdoms of middle earth." Gandalf explained.

"Our home." Thorin breathed. Fili couldn't take his eyes off it, he had never thought he would come this close to Erebor. He left a hand squeeze his, Fili looked over to see Ingrid standing next to him her eyes fixed on the mountain. He then looked to his little brother who was in just as much awe. A bird chirped overhead and Óin spoke,

"Look a raven. The birds are returning the mountain."

"That, my dear Óin, is a thrush." Gandalf corrected.

"We'll take it as a sign. A good omen." Thorin said. It was Fili's turn to squeeze Ingrids' hand.

"Yes, I do believe the worse is behind us." Bilbo said. _Yes and the future is ahead of us._ Fili thought as looked from Thorin to Kili and then to Ingrid. His family and he would protect them until his last breath.


	12. Chapter 12

The company made their way down the crag and into the valley below. Fili kept a close eye on Thorin the whole way down just in case he needed help. Once they made it to the valley floor the sun had set so they set up camp with what little they had left and all fell into an exhausted sleep. The next morning they set out a first light making their way towards the mountain. They needed to keep moving, the eagles had given them a good lead on the orc pack but they were on foot. Eventually the orc's would catch them. It wasn't long into the march when Kili and Ingrid disappeared into the woods to hunt. As they marched along Ori fell in alongside Fili.

"I can't believe we are this close to the mountain." Ori said, Fili nodded in agreement.

"It won't be too long before we are standing before the slopes of Erebor." Fili said in a reassuring voice. With every step forward towards their old home Fili's mind was awash with thoughts of his future in Erebor. He would have thought after all the near death experiences that had happened to the company so far the future would be the last thing on his mind. However his mind continued to go to it, the future was hope and hope was what he needed to keep going. Fili thought about what Erebor would look like, perfectly carved into the mountain, ancient and strong. He thought about Ingrid in a fine gown standing beside him in the throne room while Thorin was crowned King Under the Mountain. All his hopes and dreams danced in his head as they marched along. The company marched till near sundown, by then Kili and Ingrid had returned with half a dozen rabbits and quails each. As they set to work on setting up as much of a camp as they could, Fili volunteered to take the midnight watch. It was one of the worst watches to have but he hoped Ingrid would pick up on that.

That night Fili took over the midnight watch from Bombur. He sat on the edge of the camp smoking his pipe. He sat there watching the horizon looking for something listening to every movement in the darkness, though the odds of attack were low for once he didn't sway from his task. It gave Fili a chance to be a least a little bit relaxed as he sat on watch duty. Fili took a long drag from his pipe then he heard someone coming closer, it was exactly who he had hoped for, Ingrid. She sat down next to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. It felt wonderful to feel her against him. All that time in the Misty Mountains they had hardly been able to do so much as hold each other's hands.

"I figured you would like some company." She whispered, Fili gently pressed his face against her hair breathing in her sweet smell.

"It's much better now that you're here." He whispered back. Fili wrapped an arm around Ingrid's waist pulling her close. They sat there in silence for a few moments when Ingrid spoke,

"Oh, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you." She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small bundle.

"I found these while Kili and I were hunting." She undid the cloth to review a small pile of berries. "I thought it would be nice to have a treat, seeing as what we've been through." Fili picked up one of the berries and popped it into his mouth. It had been ages since he had tasted anything sweet and the flavor danced around his mouth.

"Black berries, you remembered." He said. It had been when they were children, their first kiss. Ingrid and Fili had snuck out to a black berry thicket that grew not far from the village they had been living in, where they had eaten the sweet fruit and they shared and awkward shy kiss. Ingrid popped a berry into her mouth.

"How could I forget? You cracked your head against mine the first time you tried to kiss me." They both chuckled at the memory.

"That feels like a life time ago." Fili muttered. Ingrid snuggled closer to him pressing herself tight against him.

"It really does. And I thank Durin every day that I joined the quest, otherwise who knows if we ever would have found each other again." Fili gave her a light kiss on the top of her head.

"We would have, I have no doubt about that." She turned her face up to his and reached out a hand to caress his face. Fili welcomed her touch and let her guide him in for a kiss. He smiled as he kissed her tasting the black berries that she had eaten, making her lips sweet. They sat there talking for the rest of the night. They talked about everything from their pasts and families to their futures and dreams. Ingrid returned to her sleeping roll not too long before the watch change was meant to happen. Fili sat in silence and continued to think. _What will happen when we reach the mountain?_ The closer they got to Erebor the more he wondered that. Getting to the mountain was one thing, facing the dragon inside would be something else entirely. He worried about Ingrid and Kili most of all, he knew that they were both skilled warriors but he couldn't help it. _The people you love are always the ones you worry about most._

Ingrid woke at dawn the next morning with the rest of the company. She packed up what she had left and was ready to set out on the march again. Every second they waited the orc pack got closer, the lead they had gotten from the eagles was good but wouldn't hold out forever. The company moved out, continuing east towards the mountain. Around mid-day Bilbo fell in step alongside Ingrid, the hobbit cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Yes Master Baggins." She said politely. Bilbo seemed unsure what to say for a moment.

"I…well…I was just wondering why did you join the quest?" Ingrid smiled, she had wondered if Bilbo would ever work up the courage to ask her that.

"It's quiet simple really. I have no brothers and my father was injured in a mining accident many years ago, so I was the only one who was able to answer the call." Bilbo mulled over her answer for a moment.

"So is it common for dwarf women to go on journeys like this?"

"Not at all. Most dwarf maids my age have dwarves throwing themselves at them for their hand in marriage. But, as you probably guessed I'm not like other dwarf maids."

"And why is that?" Ingrid looked at the little hobbit. Most of the time people didn't bother to ask her this many questions, they just ignored her or treated her like any male dwarf.

"Well I only have sister, three to be exact all younger. Which is a rare thing in dwarven

families. After my mother gave birth to my second sister, Ingvildr, my father decided he would train me as he would a son. Understand most dwarf girls learn the basics of sword play to be able to defend themselves and their future children but never to the extent boys are trained. So he started training me with sword and bow. He also taught me how to work a forge."  
"You're a blacksmith too." Bilbo exclaimed with wide eyes, She laughed at his little outburst.

"Yes, while other girls my age learned needle point and finer crafts I learned to forge

swords and axes."

"What about your sisters?"

"They live in the blue mountains with our parents. Durin knows what trouble they've caused since I've been gone."

"You miss them." Bilbo inferred.

"Yes Bilbo, very much." Not being with her sister was like having a part of herself missing but loyalty to the King was something her sisters had understood. She remembered how little Inga had cried when she left home making her promise she would come back. Ingrid had promised her a hundred times she would before Inga let go of her the night before she set out. She thought about the morning she had left how her father had given her the sword she carried now. It had been fresh forged then and perfect as it still was. Ingrid's heart began to ache at the thought of her family but she kept the hope alive that soon they would all be reunited in Erebor.

The weeks slipped past as they moved closer to the mountain. The company was almost three quarter of the way across the wilderlands when the orc pack finally caught up with them. Thorin sent Bilbo ahead to scout out the pack, it was all the company could do to try and hide their scent from the wargs and keep out running them. Bilbo was the least likely to be seen so he was sent out on most of the scouting missions. The wargs also were tracking the scent of dwarf not hobbit. Bilbo had been sent out again to check and see how close the pack was. Ingrid stood with the company waiting, she hated waiting, not for lack of patients but because there was nothing she could do. The company started to get fidgety then the hobbit came back over the ridge.

"How close is the pack?" Thorin asked Bilbo continued to run into the circle of dwarves.

"A couple of leagues no more. But that's not the worst of it."

"The wargs caught picked up our scent." Dwalin said, Bilbo shook his head.

"No we have another problem." Gandalf spoke up, Bilbo turned and faced him.

"Did they see you? They saw you!"

"No that's not it either." Bilbo shook his head as he caught his breathe.

"See what did I tell you, quiet as mouse," the wizard boasted proudly, "excellent burglar material." Ingrid and the other smiled and nodded at the fact.

"Will you just listen?" The hobbit almost shouted and the company quieted. "I'm trying to tell you there's something else out there." Something else was the last thing they needed. A pack of orcs hunting them was bad enough but now Bilbo seemed to be throwing another problem on the fire.

"What form did it take? Like a bear?" Gandalf inquired. Ingrid's head snapped to the wizard.

"Yes but bigger, much bigger." Bilbo said somewhat confused.

"You knew about this beast?" Bofur said "I say we double back." Doubling back would take them out of the way of the beast and right into the orc pack.

"There is a house. Not far from here where we might take refuge." Gandalf stated. Thorin looked at the wizard in an exasperated manner.

"Who's house? Are they friend or foe?"

"Neither, he will save us or he will kill us." Ingrid could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"What choice do we have?" Thorin said when a roar split the night. It was no warg howl though this was something else. Ingrid had never heard anything like it before in her life, it was similar to a bear but not at the same time.

"None." The wizard said. With the company turned and started to run. Gandalf lead the down from the foot hills with the company hot on his heels. They ran through the night and past dawn. Ingrid felt her legs starting to fatigue and she didn't know how much longer she could go. The sun was full in the sky when the broke from the woods.

"To the house, run!" Gandalf yelled as another roar cut through the air. Ingrid saw a house ahead of them in a clearing only five hundred yards away surrounded by a high wall covered in moss and ivy. Gandalf continued to yell at them to run. All Ingrid could do was keep moving, her legs screamed at her to stop but she pushed on. When she saw Bombur come blazing past her she couldn't believe her eyes, in any other situation she would have found the sight comical. They crossed through the gate and the wall and into the yard, the front door was right ahead of them. Bombur crashed into it first fallowed by Fili, Kili and Ingrid. The force from all of them slamming against the door should have opened it. Ingrid felt panic starting to take over as she slammed herself against the door again and again. Over the dwarves she heard something barreling towards them, though she dare not turn to look. Thorin rushed the door and flipped up the latch none of them had noticed. The company swarmed into the house. Ingrid helped to slam on of the doors shut when a giant black muzzle got in the way. Soon shouts of push rang out around her as she dug her heels and put all her weight and strength against the door. The beast tried to slam it open but the dwarves where stronger and pushed it out, baring the door with a beam they found nearby. Ingrid turned from the door exhausted and spoke,

"What is that?" Gandalf answered her.

"That is our host." Everyone looked up at the wizard in disbelief. "His name is Beorn, he's a skinchanger." Ingrid turned and fallowed several of the members up towards the hearth looking around the strange house. She had never heard of a skinchanger but guessed what it was. Gandalf continued to speak but she really wasn't listening. Everything in the house seemed too large and not just large for dwarves but large for men as well.

"He is not over found of dwarves." She heard Gandalf say as she leaned against one of the large beams that supported the house to catch her breath. Ingrid couldn't figure out why she seemed more winded than normal, being on the journey so far had been only making her stronger. She shrugged it off as being on the run almost constantly for the last few days.

"Now get some sleep. We'll be safe here tonight." Ingrid didn't have to be told twice. Sleep sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world to her right then. She set down her pack and pulled out her sleeping roll and fallowed the others towards the massive pile of hay at the back of the pens. Ingrid flopped down into the hay and pulled her blanket over her. The hay may not have been a feather bed but it was softer than the ground she had been sleeping on. As Ingrid hunkered down for to sleep Fili laid down next to her, though she could not touch him just having him near her made her feel more at ease. Ingrid gave into the exhaustion and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Ingrid woke the following morning to the sound of someone splitting wood. She sat up on the hay pile to see most of the company already stirring. Gandalf stood by the side door with Thorin, Ingrid stood stretching out her aching limbs and made her way over to them. When she got to the door she looked through it to see a giant of a man that stood taller than any human male she had ever seen. She had to reckon that he was eight feet tall, the giant stood in the yard swinging an axe that was larger than any normal axe a dwarf would wield in battle. Without even having to ask she knew that he was Beorn. The rest of the dwarves were soon awake and gathered over with them. Ingrid could hardly believe the size of the skinchanger, he was almost as big as the trolls they had fought though for his size he did not seem slow of wit or of lax fighting prowess.

"I say we sneak out the back while he's not looking." Nori proposed.

"I'm not running from anyone, beast or no." Dwalin growled back.

"We will never cross the wilderlands without Beorn's help." Gandalf said firmly just as Bilbo joined the company. Gandalf began to explain what they would do to gain Beorn's trust and help. Ingrid thought it was a suicide mission for sure, especially when Gandalf said the last person to startle him was ripped apart. Ingrid stayed there fidgeting as Gandalf and Bilbo went to speak with their host. Bofur looked through the windows waiting for the signal, though none of them had discussed what the signal would be. Ingrid could hear Gandalf talking to Beorn as she waited next to Nori. Bofur signaled and Dwalin and Balin went out to present themselves. Ingrid wasn't worried about Balin, for he was the most charming of the group, Dwalin on the other hand was not as likely to impress their host and more over the most likely to cause offence. Óin and Glóin went out a moment later then Dori and Ori. Her heart clenched when Fili and Kili walked out but so far Beorn had not attacked them. Then Bofur jumped down from the window and shoved Bifur, Bombur, Nori and herself out the door. When she saw the skinchanger Ingrid did a little bow taking into account the massive axe he held in his hand ready to attack. The skinchanger looked at Gandalf in disgust,

"Is that it?" he growled at the wizard when Thorin walked out of the door.

"Oh and ah the leader of our company Thorin Oakenshield" Gandalf added quickly. Beorn studied Thorin for a moment then set his axe down and walked towards them. He eyed each dwarf carefully, who all backed away at his approach, then turned to Thorin. Even standing on the top step Thorin only just reached Beorns chest.

"You must be hungry." Beorn said before walking into the house. Ingrid waited, assuming that Beorn meant them no harm now Thorin nodded. The company moved back into the house and seated themselves around the massive table. Beorn brought out food for the company which they ate gladly but respectively. The skinchanger filled mugs with milk as he spoke to Thorin. Ingrid couldn't help but notice that even in his own home Beorn seemed large. He had to duck his head under each beam that he walked underneath. He spoke of Azog and how the defiler had killed his family hunting his kind into extinction. Ingrid felt pity for Beorn to be the last of his kind totally alone, _what a sad life. _Gandalf told their host they would travel through Mirkwood but Beorn seemed almost as distrust full of the elves as the dwarves were.

"It matters not, for you will never reach the forest alive." Beorn said calmly. "I don't like dwarves their greedy. And blind, blind to the lives of those they deem lesser than their own." Ingrid held her breath, the deep voice of this man brought her nerves quickly on edge. "But orcs I hate more. What do you need?" The tension that had been thick enough to cut with a knife dissolved at Beorn's words. Thorin began to speak with Beorn about what they would need and by mid-day the company was set with food and supplies. Beorn had even lent them his prize ponies. Ingrid had to admit that they were some of the most beautiful ponies she had ever seen all dappled black and white. The company began to mount up Ingrid pulled herself onto her pony and looked around she wasn't sure why but something felt different. She wasn't sure if it was her or the world around her or both but something was changing.

Gandalf stayed behind speaking with Beorn for several moments before they set off. Ingrid and the rest of the company made no inquires about what they had discussed for a wizards business is rote with twist and turns that are too confusing for most normal folk. Ingrid thought about how close they were to the mountain but it was beginning of fall and time was running out. With Beorn's swift ponies the journey to the edge of Mirkwood and the elven road took them only a day of hard riding. Fortune seemed to be favoring them for not a single orc had crossed their path to Mirkwood. Ingrid dismounted her pony and almost lost her balance upon touching solid ground. She clung to her saddle for a moment to let her head clear. Ever since they had left Beorn's home she had been plagued by dizziness and weakness. Ingrid was too stubborn to tell anyone though so she always shrugged it off and kept going.

"Set the ponies lose. Let them return to their master." Gandalf said. Ingrid took the supplies off her pony and picked up her pack situating it as comfortably as she could on her back. She was going to miss having those ponies for certain but Beorn's furry was something she wanted to avoid even more. The rest of the company unpacked their ponies and got ready for the march as well. Soon the ponies were galloping away from them back to Beorn. Dori began to undo Gandalf's saddle when the wizard shouted,

"Not my horse. I need it." Ingrid looked at him in disbelief. No one would dare try and stop him from leaving, for a wizard would do as he willed. As Gandalf marched past the company a gentle rain began to fall on their heads.

"I'll be waiting for you at the overlook before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. On no account enter the mountain without me." He tightened his saddle. "This is not the green wood of old. There is a stream that carries a dark enchantment do not touch the water, only cross by the stone bridge. The very air of the forest is thick with illusion it will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray. You must stay on the path, if you leave it you'll never find it again." The wizard mounted, turned and road off. Thorin looked even unhappier than normal as he turned to the company. Gandalf yelled a final warning to stay on the path as they entered the forest.

"Come on. We have to reach the mountain before the sunsets on Durin's day. It's our only chance to find the hidden door." Thorin reminded them, not that any of them needed reminding. Ingrid trudged along with the rest of the company. The forest looked almost gray to her as if light and life entered the forest only to die and become nothing. The company moved along the stone path following its twists and turns. The days began to run together as the company marched through the forest. The company would sleep beside the path and walk and sleep. Further and further they walked, Ingrid began to feel even more tired than she had before but she could see the other felt the same, the forest just seemed to keep going and going.

"The bridge." Bofur yelled. "It's the stone bridge." Ingrid smiled at least now they knew they were making progress. But her hopes were dashed when she saw the bridge was broken and the two sides were too far apart to jump to. The waters of the stream looked murky and slow moving but Ingrid dared not touch them.

"These vines look strong enough." Kili said. Thorin stopped him from going across, sending Bilbo over first seeing he was the lightest. Ingrid stood by the bank with Fili watching the little hobbit make his way across. She found herself moving towards the vines as if they were pulling at her. Bilbo was making his way across slowly and had gotten halfway across the vines when Ingrid found herself hold the vines absent mindedly. Ingrid began moving over the vines as carefully as she could, suddenly she saw Thorin and Fili ahead of her, she wondered how they got ahead of her but the idea flew away from her as she moved across the vines. Then everyone was clamoring across the stream clinging to the vines and leaping from branch to branch. Ingrid leapt over the stream grabbing a hold of vine and slipping dangerously close to the water. _Don't touch the water. _ She told herself over and over again. Just when she thought she was going to make it across there was a great splash. Ingrid looked behind to see Bombur laying in the stream sound asleep. _You have to get across. _ She grabbed ahold of another vine and swung to the edge of the bank landing hard but keeping dry.

"How do we get him out?" She asked Thorin. Fili and Kili were the next to reach the bank.

"Fili get some rope." Thorin said. Fili tied a lasso knot in the rope and swung the rope about his head launching it and looping it about one of Bombur's feet. Ingrid and the other dragged the fat dwarf from the water and onto the bank. Óin went to Bombur and tried to wake him but it didn't do any good.

"Carry him then." Thorin commanded. They set to work on building a frame to carry him on. Ingrid helped gather branched for it but in her work she felt like every movement was like pulling herself through honey. Eventually they were able to get Bombur onto the frame shouldering his great weight amongst them then carried on. The company moved for how long Ingrid could not say. She didn't know how many days they had been in the forest. Ingrid could not tell if it was day or night it always seemed to be the same gloom all the time. As they trudged onwards she saw a glint of red, here it was rushing past her eyes but every time see focused in on it would disappear again. She stopped on the path looking for what she had seen trying desperately to bring it into focus. It moved again but this time it was slow enough for her to see. Ingrid couldn't believe her eyes, Ingvildr, the wildest of her sisters. Ingvildr ran through the trees her fire red curls blazing behind her. Then Inga appeared skipping along to join Igvildr. Little Inga had flowers in her braids as well as a bouquet in her hands. Ingrid looked to where they were headed and saw Ingeborg standing waiting for her sister with open arms. All three of her sister reached each other and embraced. Ingrid felt farther away from them than she had the entire journey. They then looked at Ingrid, three pairs of matching emerald green eyes all smiling at her. They waved to her beckoning her to them.

"Ingrid," she heard them calling, "come with us sister, We miss you. We love you." She moved towards them, _they aren't that far, I won't be gone long. _Her heart ached as she moved towards them it wouldn't be long she just need to see them to embrace them. Then, a hand closed around her arm stopping her. Ingrid turned with a snap to see Balin grabbing her arm.

"Don't leave the path." He said. Ingrid looked back desperately to her sister but they were gone and only trees remained. A part of her heart broke at that, she turned her mind back to the path and trudged on ahead. The company walked for what could have been an hour or a day she could not tell. When Nori begged Thorin to rest a moment their leader reluctantly stopped, as they rested Thorin cursed the forest. Ingrid leaned against a tree trying to stop her head from spinning. Then, Thorin shouted for them to follow him, Balin tried to make him stay on the path but it was no good. Ingrid ran after him into the forest she would follow her king to any danger. Bilbo was the last to catch up with them but whatever Thorin had seen was gone. They tried to find the path again but couldn't so they started to head east or at least what they thought was east. The farther they went into the woods the more unsure Ingrid became and soon nothing looked familiar. The company wandered, for how long none could say. Till Bilbo spoke up,

"Don't you see, we're lost. We keep going in circles."

"No we keep heading east." Thorin said.

"But which way is east?" Ingrid said. The company began to bicker and quarrel shoving and pushing each other when Thorin shouted at them to be quiet.

"We're being watched." He said in a hushed voice. The dwarves drew their weapons making a tight circle. Ingrid looked around but saw nothing when suddenly there was a noise from above she looked up to see a massive spider descending but it wasn't just one there more, many more. Ingrid couldn't think all she could do was scream. Before the rest of the company even had time to look up the spiders dropped one landed near Ingrid and grabbed her. She tried to fight but felt something stab into her thigh and then all the world turned black.


	14. Chapter 14

Fili felt himself falling, he hit the ground with a relatively light thud. His head was swimming as he lay there wondering what had happened. It took a moment but then it all came flooding back to him. Ingrid had screamed, then spiders had appeared one after the other the first of which caught Ingrid off guard and stung her in the leg. He remembered that as he had gone to save her swords in hand he had felt a strong sting into his thigh, looking around he found a large spider next to him. He then realized that he was wrapped in a cocoon of the spiders webbing.

The spiders, he thought as he clawed out of the sticky silk. Once freed he grabbed at his leg feeling for where the spider had gotten him but to his relief there was only a small cut left across his thigh. The rest of the company was coming free of their cocoons as well. As he looked about he saw Thorin, Kili and Ingrid, they were all safe and were moving fine on their own. Fili then began to check the rest of the company, all of them were there apart from one.

"Where's Bilbo?" He yelled. Everyone looked about frantically but there wasn't much time to search for the hobbit, for spiders were careening downward right for them. They could hear them scurrying along their webs and down the trees. Fili drew his swords and stood ready for the fight. The spiders attacked hissing and spitting. He cut through one feeling his sword crunch through the tough outer shell. Fili just kept hammering away at any one that came close to him. He saw one coming up behind Glóin and Fili grabbed one of his throwing axes out of his boot and hurled it at spider catching the creature in the side slowing it enough for Bifur to finish it off with a swift stab. The world became a blur of weapons, fangs, and legs. Once the spiders around them had been slaughtered the company ran forward. East, west, north or south it didn't matter they just needed to get away from those foul creatures. The company only got about two hundred yards when more spiders began to repel down from the tree tops. One spider began to charge Thorin but to Fili's surprise an elf slid under the beast slicing it along its belly then the white blond elf drew his bow with an arrow pointed right at Thorin's head. The company found themselves surrounded on all sides by elves. Fili dared not attack with that many arrows pointed at them one wrong move and the elves would slaughter the company in a second. The blond elf made a threat to Thorin when Fili heard Kili yell.

"Kili!" He shouted. Fili turned to run to his brother but the elves blocked his path. He watched helplessly as a spider attacked Kili. Just when it looked as though Kili would be killed for, certain a she-elf came flying out of the trees slaughtering the spiders that were descending around Kili. She was a streak of green with red hair cutting down the spiders faster than Fili would have thought possible. The she-elf then grabbed Kili roughly by the arm dragging him over to join the rest of the company.

"Search them." The blond elf said. An elf began to disarm Fili but he had so many daggers on his person he was sure they wouldn't find all of them. He handed over his swords and visible dagger peacefully enough but the elf continued to find his hidden dagger. Even the one he had hidden under the collar of his coat. Fili looked over to see that they were disarming Ingrid as well, he also noted they showed her no kindness for being a she-dwarf. He felt his blood boil at the sight of one of the elf frisking her. _ He has no right to touch her, _he thought furiously she was a daughter of Durin and not some bar maid. Fili had no choice but to bare it as the blond elf questioned Thorin about his blade, Goblin cleaver, and proceeded to call him a thief and liar when Thorin told him the truth. The elves drew out rope and bound the parties hands together, then after lashing the rope to each member of the party the forced them to march onward. The elves pushed the company along down a path that Fili had not noticed before. He then looked around and saw that Bilbo was still missing, again, but for once Bilbo's uncanny ability to get lost might just be their salvation.

They walked for several hours through the forests. Fili had no sense of which direction they might be headed in but he knew where they were headed for certain. The heart of the woodland realm, King Thranduil's palace, Fili had heard his uncle speak of the elven king and had hoped to avoid the elf who betrayed his people. The company and their captors reached the walls of the palace past mid-day, the gate was as grand as would be expected for a palace. The dwarves were herded inside the walls. Fili had not spent much time amongst elves but he could already tell that was Beorn had said of these elves was true. Everything about the world within the walls said it was elvish but there was something about it that felt closed off and wrong when he thought of how Rivendell had felt. The elves led them through the maze of twisting trees and stone tunnels deeper into the ground. Soon enough though they came to the dungeons, which had been carved into the rock alongside a waterfall that fell into a ravine below. It was by far the prettiest dungeon that Fili had ever had the pleasure of being in. _What else would you expect from elves? They even make their dungeons pretty._

The elves unbound their hands and began to shove each dwarf into individual cells. Before the elf that had Fili threw him into a cell the elf noticed the one dagger they had missed and took it from him much to Fili's dismay. The elf then gave Fili a hard shove into the cell and shut the door. The elves began to file out of the dungeon leaving the dwarves alone.

"Fili?" He heard Ingrid whisper. She was in the cell next to his right from the sound of her voice.

"Ingrid, did they hurt you?" He asked. If one of those point eared sons of bitches had hurt her, Durin help them.

"No I'm alright. Are you hurt?" He responded quickly not wanting to worry her.

"No I'm fine as well." Fili paused for a moment. "Ingrid just know this, I will find a way out of here and, I love you." He whispered even more softly.

"I love you too." She whispered back. Just then an elf came floating by with a set of keys. The elf glided passed his cell and headed towards Thorin's. Fili heard a key turn in a lock and a cell door swing open. A few moments later he watched Thorin being led out and away from the dungeons. Fili heard one of the dwarves starting to ram a cell door. It seemed as good an idea as any. He began throwing his whole weight against the door, slamming into it over and over. After a while he was coated in sweat and peeled off his coat and vest piling them in the corner of his cell. While he did this he could hear Ingrid ramming against her door also. Fili began to kick the door as hard as he could but the damned thing wouldn't budge. Again and again he kicked it, he could hear the others ramming their doors as well trying to get just one of them open.

"Leave it!" Balin yelled. "This is no orc dungeon. These are the halls of the woodland realm. No one leaves here but by the Kings consent." Fili knew that Balin was right escaping didn't seem to be a likely option. Fili sat down on the floor exhausted. With nothing better to do he reached into the hidden pocket inside his boot. He kept only one this in the small pocket that was hidden in the lining. Fili pulled out what was probably his most precious possession, a ring. It was too small for him to wear but it meant more to him than a pile of gold. The band was silver with intricate designs' worked into the metal. The center jewel was an emerald of perfect quality. He could make out his own reflection in the green depths of stone. The ring had been his mothers, she had given it to him before he left for Erebor. Never in his life had he seen her take it off, for the ring was what his father had used to ask for her hand in marriage. It was traditional when asking for a dwarf maids hand in marriage to present her with some kind of gift most often some form of jewelry. His mother had told him his father had forged the ring for her and that she wanted Fili to take it with him so he would have the strength of both his parents with him.

As he gazed at the ring thinking of sweet memories of the past when a new idea came to his mind. The emerald was perfect, the exact same shade as Ingrid's eyes. He smiled to himself and clutched the ring tight. Maybe this was what Dis had planned all along, maybe some how she knew Ingrid would be there. Fili grinned, this was going to be the ring he would present to Ingrid after they retook Erebor. This would be the ring he would use to ask for her hand.


	15. Chapter 15

When Balin had finished Ingrid knew that he was right, these doors were made to hold stronger than her. She kicked the door once more, more out of frustration than anything. She sat down hard on the bench of her cell as another dizzy spell washed over her. Ingrid felt her head spinning and her stomach started to roil, she lunged for the bucket in the corner of her cell fighting the urge to wretch. It took her several minutes to regain her composure and force her stomach to settle down. Once Ingrid was sure she wasn't going to vomit she leaned back against the wall, the stones coolness seeped through her tunic and helped relax her. _What's wrong with me?_ This was the first time she had really had to just sit and think things over. Constantly being on the run left her little time to worry about the symptoms she had been feeling. Ingrid began to back track what she had been feeling, thinking through the different dizzy sleeps and the weakness. Then all the pieces fell into place. _No. No. It can't be_. Then the final piece of the puzzle her moon's blood hadn't come since before Rivendell. Rivendell the first time she and Fili had made love. In shook she placed a one hand over her mouth and the other over her stomach as the words formed in her mind, _I'm pregnant. _

Tears rolled down her cheeks unbidden. _I'm carrying Fili's child. The next heir of Durin. _She thought of all that had happened so far and what still lay ahead of them a dragon and an orc pack and Durin knew what else. They had been lost in the forest for several weeks and Durin's day was only a few days away from what she had gathered from listening to the elves which left them little time to escape, make it across the lake and find the hidden door. Ingrid looked down at her belly and decided then and there she wouldn't tell anyone, not even Fili. She would wait until they retook Erebor. The thought killed her, not being able to tell Fili would cause her nothing but guilt, but she was already putting him in enough danger. Their feelings for each other made the put everything second to each other even the company and quest. If she told him she was carrying his baby he would put everything aside he might even try to stop her from going any further on the quest. That was something she wouldn't allow him to do with child or not she had sworn a vow to see the quest through. Ingrid pulled her knees to her chest wrapped her arms around her legs and sobbed quietly to herself. Never in her life had she felt more alone though she knew her isolation was all her doing. But, it was better to feel alone then to endanger the people she loved most.

Ingrid dried her eyes as she heard someone coming. It was the elves, who were dragging Thorin back to his cell. Once he had been thrown in and the elves had left Balin began to ask him what he and the king had discussed. When Thorin shouted in dwarvish that he had told Thranduil he could go fuck himself along with all his kin, Ingrid had to smile. Though the insult had coast them their chance at freedom the easy way Bilbo was still out there somewhere and maybe with a little luck they would be able to escape. Time dragged on as Ingrid sat in her cell with on hand resting against her belly. She couldn't seem to stop doing it, knowing that there was a child growing inside of her felt so strange. Then for no reason she started to sing softly, it was an old dwarvish lullaby her mother used to sing to her sisters and her when they had been little. It was soothing to hear even if she was singing it.

"That was beautiful." She heard Fili say from his cell. Ingrid must have been singing louder than she had realized.

"Oh thank you," was all she could say. Ingrid didn't have the best singing voice but she was still glad that Fili had like it.

"My mother used to sing the same song when Kili and I were little." Ingrid smiled at that as she looked down at her belly, _and someday I'll sing it to you_. Time moved along as slow as a snail, there was nothing to do in the cell but think and wait. She thought about what her future held assuming she survived long enough to see it. But, now she had and even grater reason to survive and she would. Ingrid would also do everything in her power to protect Fili, her child was going to have a father no matter what it took. She thought of what the baby would look like, she saw a child with golden hair and big green eyes smiling at her. The thought made her smile. Soon Ingrid began to feel the pull of sleep but she did not trust the elves and would not close her eyes, not even for a moment. Hours trickled past and Bofur spoke up,

"I'd wager the sun is on the rise. It must be nearly dawn." If Bilbo didn't hurry they would never make it to the mountain in time. Time was their greatest enemy now fallowed in closely by the orcs that were hunting them. Ingrid began to feel despair taking over, she wondered what the elves would do with her when she could no longer hide her pregnancy. For a moment she considered whispering to Fili the truth but just then Bilbo appeared.

"Not stuck in here you're not." Ingrid's heart filled with joy as she rushed the bars of her cell. There stood Bilbo keys in hand unlocking Thorin's cell. Ingrid let out a shout of joy along with the rest of the company.

"Shh," Bilbo hissed, "there are guards nearby." Bilbo made quick work of unlocking the doors. When he reached Ingrid's cell she patted him on the back.

"Well done Bilbo." She whispered, Bilbo responded with a smile. Ingrid hurried to join the others. They turned and headed towards the stairs that led up out of the dungeons but Bilbo stopped them, telling everyone to fallow him. The company fallowed him down deeper into the palace. Ingrid had no idea why they would be heading this way but Bilbo had been able to sneak about Thranduil's palace unseen so he must have known the best way out. Deeper and deeper they went, moving as quietly as they could. Until they reached the cellars of the palace, massive barrels of wine and ale stood around them as they snuck past several elves that appeared to be passed out drunk. Ingrid prayed that the wine would keep them asleep till Bilbo led them to where ever it was they were headed too. Bilbo pointed them towards a stack of barrels that had been placed on their sides.

"Everyone climb into the barrels, quickly." Bilbo said in a loud whisper. Dwalin rounded on the hobbit accusing him of going mad but Bilbo begged Dwalin to trust him. Ingrid had to agree with Dwalin this plan seemed mad as any, but Thorin told them to do as Bilbo said they obeyed. Fili gave Ingrid a leg up into one of the barrels where she slipped in feet first. It took her a moment to get situated as the rest of the company slipped into their own barrels.

"What do we do know?" Bofur asked. Ingrid popped her head out of her barrel to look at Bilbo.

"Hold your breath." Bilbo said as he grabbed ahold of a lever that came out of the floor. Ingrid was confused, _why do I need to hold my breath. _As he pulled the lever the floor began to tip and Ingrid let out a shout of surprise as she felt her barrel starting to roll. It rolled a short ways bumping along and then she was falling, she was greeted by a dousing of icy water as the barrel fell into a river. Ingrid came up sputter as the rest of the company righted themselves in their barrels. The river began to carry them down the stream, the current wasn't too fast but they grabbed onto the rocks to slow down to wait for Bilbo. If anything they needed him now more than ever, he was a much better burglar than any of them could have hoped for. It took the hobbit several moment before he came falling out of the opening they had come through. Bilbo surfaced near Nori and Nori grabbed hold of him pulling him onto his barrel.

"Well done Master Baggins." Thorin said with a smile. With their burglar back they let go of the rocks and began to move with the current. Ingrid even tried to paddle along to move a little quicker. The current started to gain speed as they wound their through the rocks.

"Hold on!" Thorin yelled. Ingrid saw daylight ahead and the drop off at the same moment. Her barrel went careening over the edge, she shouted as she fell into the churning water at the base of the falls. Ingrid held her breath as the barrel dropped below the water line only to be spat up a moment later. She was completely soaked at this point, water was running into her eyes and she could feel her boots had filled with water as well. Ingrid tried to stay low in her barrel as the rapids whisked them along. Then a horn sounded long and loud, the elves must have found out they had escaped. Ingrid rounded a bend and could see a wall ahead that the river passed beneath. There was an elf sprinting towards it, moving faster than the river was carrying them. She heard a gate closing and Thorin yelled in anger. The company became trapped against the gate, barrels slammed into each other as the current continued to push them forward.

Ingrid was half way under the arch when she heard the orc howl. Her heart stopped as orcs began to swarm the banks over running the elves on guard. Orcs dropped into the water around them. Ingrid punched on in the face grabbing its sword. The orc sword was a crude piece of iron to say the least but now was not the time to be picky. Ingrid sliced through the next orc that attacked near her cutting through as many orcs as she could. Then she heard Fili yell,

"Kili!" She looked up to see Kili standing above them on the wall with an arrow sticking out of this thigh. Her heart clenched as an orc came over the wall at him but an arrow took the orc in the head. Ingrid spun to see the same she-elf who had saved Kili from the spiders was the one who had saved him from the orc. Another orc dropped down near her and she hammered away at it with the sword splitting its head it two. When she looked back at the bank more elves were there killing the orcs. Then she heard the gate beginning to open. Kili had managed to open the gate even with an arrow in his leg. She tried to hold on to the rocks but the current swept Ingrid away before she had a chance to try and help Kili. She went tumbling over the next waterfall. It was all Ingrid could do to keep ahold of the sword she had grabbed and gasp for air when she could. The river and turned into a torrent of rapids that threw her against the rocks without care. Ingrid saw an orc standing alongside the bank she was headed towards and slashed at its legs. The orc tumbled into the water as her sword bit into its leg. Ingrid was pushed under the water again when she surfaced she saw a clear shot and hurled the sword at an orc with a bow. The sword struck its mark slicing through the orcs side.

They crashed down the river with the orcs hot on their trail. Arrows flashed past them some even struck the barrels but none found their intended mark. Further down the river they flew then she saw the blond elf coming flying across the bank. He jumped on the heads of Dwalin and Dori firing arrows the whole time. She watched as the elf continued to slaughter the orcs with ease. The elf jumped across the heads of several more member of the company before leaping onto the bank. Ingrid saw him fight two orcs while a third snuck up behind him. He was dead for certain till she saw Thorin throw his axe killing the orc that had been sneaking up on the elf. They crashed down the river as the orcs seemed to fade away. The current was moving faster than the orcs to run and for once she was happy that elves had shown up. Ingrid knew if the elves had not tried to stop them the orcs would have caught them down stream and would have killed them more likely than not. The current moved them along keeping them well ahead of the orcs. The river flowed on and the rapids became less and less till the water had slowed to a crawl.

"I think we out ran the orcs." Bofur said.

"Not for long. We've lost the current. Make for the shore." Thorin yelled. Ingrid used her arms to pull herself towards the bank. When she reached the edge she pulled herself onto the rocks. It was only then that she realized how wet she was. Her clothes stuck to her in every way imaginable and her boots were over flowing with water, her long braid had come undone somewhere along the way and her hair was a soaking tangled mess. Kili had climbed out before her and was sitting on a rock. Fili was already with him when Ingrid reached them. She could see Kili had already managed to pull the arrow head out which was good but his leg needed binding.

"On your feet." Thorin barked. "We need to keep moving."

"Kili's hurt, his legs needs binding." Fili said. The other argued about what to do as Ingrid and Fili worked to wrap Kili's wound.

"Bind his leg. You have two minutes." Thorin said to them. Just as they finished binding Kili's leg a figure appeared over them. Ingrid looked up to see a man with a bow standing on the rock ledge above them. Dwalin charged with a branch in hand but the man shot an arrow into the branch dead center. Ingrid grabbed up a rock to throw but the archer shot it out of her hand. _He has good aim._ She thought as he told to dwarves if they moved they were dead. It was Balin that spoke up at that moment,

"Excuse me but you're from Lake Town if I'm not mistaken." Balin moved closer with his hands in the air. "That barge of there, it wouldn't be available for hire by any chance." The archer lowered his bow at this. He did not shoot them just moved down the rocks back to the barge and began to load the barrels that had just saved the dwarves lives. Ingrid stayed with Fili helping Kili down the rocks. Though Kili tried to push them off saying that he didn't need them, neither Fili nor Ingrid would leave his side. Balin continued to haggle with the bargeman about getting across to Lake Town. Ingrid shot a quick glance at Fili, he looked half drowned but otherwise alright. Guilt filled her as she thought of the baby but she held her tongue all the same. Soon enough Balin came to an agreement with the bargeman and the company boarded the barge. Ingrid leaned against a rail dumping water from her boots glade that they had found a way to cross the lake. It was unlikely the orcs would find passage this easily and that gave them time. _Time_, she thought, _If only I had more of it. _ Ingrid looked at Fili was sitting with his brother. She wanted to hold tell him she loved him and most of all tell him about the baby. Ingrid clenched her jaw and looked away holding in everything she wanted to say.


	16. Chapter 16

Fili leaned against the railing of the barge as they moved across the lake. A thick blanket of morning fog had rolled in making seeing more than ten feet in front of the barge impossible. They had been sailing all the previous day and through the night. In that time the company and dried out, more or less, but the air was still bitterly cold. Then out of nowhere massive stone ruins leapt from the fog. The bargeman maneuvered around them with ease. The company fretted over the bargeman and whether or no he could be trusted, Bilbo informed them his name was Bard but that hardly seemed to matter. Balin counted at the coins they needed to pay him.

"We don't have to like him." Balin replied to Dwalin. "We simply have to pay him. Come on lads turn out your pockets." Fili dug into his pouch and pulled out the two silver pieces he had left turning them over to Balin. The rest of the company handed over their coins as well Balin counted over the coins and said,

"There's just one problem we're ten coins short." Fili looked to Thorin who looked to Glóin.

"Glóin, come on. Give us what you have." Glóin bristled at the comment.

"Don't look to me. I have been bleed dry by this venture." At that moment Fili stopped listening for the fog had begun to clear away and out of the gloom loomed the Lonely Mountain. It was just as big as he had imagined it would be, the peak seemed to scrap against the sky.

"Bless my bread." Glóin breathed, "Take it. Take all of it." Fili cracked a smile, he had never seen Glóin so easily parted from his coin purse before. Bard moved towards them quickly,

"The money quick." He urged them.

"We will pay you when we get our provisions and not before." Thorin said sternly.

"If you value your freedom you'll do as I say. There are guards ahead." Bard looked ahead and Fili could hear voices drifting over the water and see the outline of a town and dock were coming towards them out of the fog.

"Get in the barrels." Bard said. Thorin nodded and the company began to climb back into the barrels. Fili was about to climb into one when he saw Ingrid grab her head steadying herself against the barrel. He knew she had been suffering from dizzy spells as of late. Fili went to her and helped her into one of the barrels. Once she was safely inside the barrel he had to ask,

"Are you alright?" Fili made sure to whisper to her, she smiled up at him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me." Worrying about her was something he did all the time though. The thought of losing her was something he could not stand. Fili climbed into a barrel and squatted down. They sailed on for a while longer then the barge scrapped against something. Bard walked past the barrels away from the boat, Fili figured they had landed on the docks they had seen. Fili listened to Bilbo as he told them what was happening. Bard had just made some kind of a deal with someone. Fili held his breath ready for a fight at any moment. There was the sound of something moving over head then Fili was being pounded with slimy cold fish. The ice cold buggers fell into the barrel beating him over the head and surrounding him. Fili sat there gritting his teeth till the onslaught of fish stopped. The barge began to move again pushing away from the docks. Fili could hear the others groaning in their barrels. The cold and wet wasn't so bad he was already both of those but the smell was atrocious, it was almost enough to make him want to wretch right there. The barge continued to sail over the lake for a time, he heard Bard hiss at the company,

"Be quiet. We're approaching the toll gate." Fili heard the sounds of men around them and one man shouting to Bard. After that it was difficult to hear what was being said exactly but what Fili could make out it sounded as though Bard was being reprimanded for bringing fish into the city. The next thing he caught was someone saying to tip the barrels over the side. If that happened the dwarves would be outed for certain. Fili heard several of the barrels being moved across the deck and Bard speaking franticly. Fili felt his heart beat quicken as he got ready to bolt if they were found out. From the sound of it fish had begun to fall back into the water when Fili heard the man who had been reprimanding Bard say stop. The sound of fish hitting to water stopped at that moment and he heard the barrels being set back down onto the deck. Fili allowed himself to take a deep breathe not that that was the best idea being surrounded by fish. Someone yelled out to raise the gate and the sound of iron groaning could be heard. A few more words were exchanged and the barge began to move across the water again this time deeper into Lake Town. The sailed on for another quarter hour before the barge stopped. Fili waited to hear something, anything, and then there it was the sound of a barrel tipping over and some of the company moving around. The sound of Dwalin's voice was enough to make Fili sure that it was time to move. He stood up gladly clambering free of the fishy prison. Fili helped Kili out of his barrel seeing as Kili's leg was giving him more problems. Fili looked at Ingrid who looked gladder to be out those barrels than anything else in the world. Her hair which was usually kept in a prefect braid was a complete rat's nest with fish scales stuck in it. The company moved onto the dock as Bard began to lead the through the town.

Fili was very familiar with the world of men and nothing he saw surprised him in the slightest, Bilbo on the other hand looked dazed. The fisherman were crying the days catch, woman were sewing and selling ware, children ran about the docks playing games. It was a lively town though Fili could tell that it had seen better days. As they passed through a market a guard saw them, yelling at them to halt.

"Come on, move." Thorin said and the dwarves ran into the market. Guards began to come at them but there were only a few. Fili threw a rope to Kili making a trip line catching one of the guards around his ankles. The guard fell on the ground then Ingrid cracked him over the head with a frying pan. They dragged the unconscious guards out of the way and hid. They heard a new man speaking and from the way he spoke he was most likely the captain of the guard. He ordered everyone to stay where they were. Bard intervened the captain before he got to them but when one of the women in the market dropped a pot on one of the guards heads who was starting to wake the captain came to investigate. The dwarves readied themselves for another fight but to Fili's surprise the people of Lake Town helped hide the guards they had beat. _Well that tells you how unpopular those lads are. _Bard made a rude comment about the captains' wife, which from the sound of the footsteps moving away from them did not sit too well. Once the guards had left the dwarves continued to make their way through the town trying to draw as little attention to themselves as possible. The company had just entered a second market when a young lad ran up to Bard.

"Da, our house, it's being watched." Bard frowned at this then turned to the dwarves.

"Can you swim?"

"Of course." Thorin responded.

"Then this way." Bard led them to the edge of the dock.

"We aren't far now, swim about five hundred yards that way. The house is at the end of the wharf." Thorin nodded and the dwarves slipped into the freezing water. Ingrid cringed at the icy feeling more fearful of what the cold might do to the baby then to herself. The company began to swim under the buildings towards the house Bard had told them of. It was the longest swim of Ingrid's life. When they made it too the house all they could do was wait. The way in was obvious enough though none more pleasant to think about. Three loud knocks rattled from above and Dwalin climbed up. Bilbo fallowed him out as Ingrid floated in the water waiting. She was one of the last to go apart from Thorin and Balin. Ingrid fallowed the rest up the stairs into the small house. Bard was there along with the two daughters he had mentioned before. Dwalin and the others had already begun to pull off their boots and Ingrid fallowed suit. Fili and Kili had also peeled off their tunics to let them hang by the fire. Ingrid knew she needed to get out of her wet things as well. The younger of Bards daughters began to pass out dry clothes as the elder put a pot over the fire. The little girl stared at Ingrid more than any of the others as she handed out the clothes. Before she got to Ingrid however she ducked back to where she had gotten the other clothes and returned with a dress. She offered it up to Ingrid.

"What's your name?" Ingrid asked her.

"Tilda." She answered in a bright voice. Ingrid smiled at her, something about the young girl reminded her of Inga.

"That is very kind of you to offer me a dress, dear girl, but I would do better in men's clothes." The little girl stared at her innocently.

"Why? You're a girl after all." Just then her elder sister swooped in.

"Tilda be polite and get out guest what she asked for." Tilda hurried off with the dress in hand. "I'm sorry if she offended you."

"Not at all." She looked at the girl who was on the verge of womanhood. "I understand what it's like to look out for a little sister." The girl returned to the pot she had set on the fire as Tilda rushed back with a jacket for Ingrid. She took it from her gladly. Ingrid moved towards the edge of the room and faced one corner for a least a moment of privacy while she removed her tunic. When she did so she looked down at her belly for a moment, it was still too early for her to be showing but she gazed for a moment anyway. Ingrid slipped on the jacket and tied the belt tight about her waist trying to cover herself as much as she was able though some of her bosom could be seen no matter how hard she tried. Ingrid laid her shirt out to dry with Fili and Kili's and the elder girl handed her a mug of fish stew. The stew was hot and by no means rich but the warmth alone was enough. As she drank the stew the warmth spread through her warming her in the most pleasant way. Tilda had seemed to work up the courage to come back over to Ingrid again.

"Are you a warrior princess?" Tilda asked. Ingrid gave chuckle as she took another swallow of her stew.

"No just a warrior." Tilda seemed surprised by that.

"I thought only princesses could be warriors."

"Anyone can be a warrior. You just have to have to work at it and be brave." Tilda seemed satisfied with that answer and wandered off to help her sister. The company stayed in the house for a while just trying to warm up after their impromptu swim. Ingrid listened to Balin tell Bilbo of the day that Smaug had destroyed Dale. She knew the story as well as any dwarf, it was one that she had been raised on. While she listened Ingrid pulled apart her still damp hair and braided it back into a single piece. When Balin had finished Thorin spoke,

"If the aim of men had been true that day, much would have been different." Bard seemed to have grown suspicious of them and questioned Thorin. But, Thorin would not reveal their true purpose to a bargeman they knew nothing about.

"You took out money. Where are the weapons?" Bard disappeared down below Ingrid retrieved her now dry tunic and pulled it back on, Fili and Kili did the same. The tunic was still warm from the fire and felt wonderful against her skin. She then pulled the jacket back on and fastened the belt about her waist. Fili, Kili, Thorin and Balin were talking heatedly as Bard returned with their weapons. He opened the bundle to reveal a mass of incomprehensible weapons. They were make shift at best and far from what they paid for. The dwarves threw the weapons back down on the table in disgust.

"You won't find better outside the city armory. All iron forged weapons are held there under lock and key." Balin advised them to take the offer and go. They had no more time to waste here.

"You cannot leave." Bard said the dwarves roared at the thought. "There are spies watching this house and probably every dock and wharf in the town. You must wait till night fall." Bard left the house as the dwarves sat down. But from the look Dwalin and Thorin exchanged there was no way they were waiting for night fall. Bards son poked his head out the door and spoke to his father. When Bard did not return to the house the dwarves became more restless. When the sun started to set Thorin spoke,

"We're leaving now." Ingrid tugged on her boots. While the boy tried his best to stop them from leaving, it did no good they just pushed past him and out into the town. The dwarves moved quietly, sneaking about fallowing several guards through their rounds. Eventually they found the city armory. The company waited as the last rays of sun light faded from the sky. There was a window that had been left open on the second floor of the armory and it was the perfect way in. Ingrid, Fili, Bifur and several others worked together to make a ramp out of their bodies that the other could run up and into the window.

"As soon as we have the weapons we make for the mountain." Thorin whispered. Then Nori came running at them and up and into the window. Then Bilbo, Bofur, Thorin and Kili all went in just a smoothly. Those left outside stood by the water's edge and waited. It was all on those that were inside now, they would steal the weapons they needed then slip out the back door easy as that. Ingrid leaned against the wall next to Fili, in the dark she felt his finger entwine with hers. It had been so long since they had been able to show any affection to each other that even that simple act made her heart flutter. Then a loud clatter came from inside the armory and men started shouting.

"Run." Dori yelled but as they turned to run there were guards blocking their path. _Captured again! I would like to go just a few days without being someone's captive. _ The guards lead kept their spears pointed at the dwarves as the moved them along towards the master house. What was going to happen to them when they reached there none of them could say.


	17. Chapter 17

Much to the dwarves surprise the master of lake ended up inviting them to stay in his mansion as his honored guests. Of course this was only after Thorin had told them that he would help them rebuild their city to its former greatness. Fili was shown to his own private chambers in the master's mansion. It was grand room with a large four poster bed, roaring fire place and overstuffed chairs and sofas. Fili was fairly certain the only reason he was getting a room this grand was because of the fact that he was Thorin's heir. The master had also told the company, before they had been shown to their rooms that there would be a feast for them the fallowing night. Durin's day was the morning after the feast so they did not refuse beds and food. Fili took off his jacket, tunic and boots hoping for a decent night's sleep when there was a knock at the door. If it was one of the men of Lake Town he was going to slam the door in their face and go to bed. If it was someone from the company he would hear what they had to say but there was one person he hoped was on the other side of the door. Fili pulled open the door and there she stood. Ingrid didn't wait to be invited in. The moment Fili had the door closed Ingrid had him pressed against it kissing him furiously. His finger entwined in her hair as his other hand found the small of her back pressing her to him. Passion burned inside him as weeks of pent up feelings came rushing forth. They broke apart both breathing heavy.

"I've wanted to do that for weeks now." Fili murmured to her. She buried her face against his chest wrapping her arms around his waist. He held her back just as tightly. They stood there for a long while just holding each other. Fili reached up a hand and gently caressed her face, when her eyes met his there was something he could not place. Something was wrong but he didn't know what. Tears were filling her eyes.

"What's wrong Ingrid? Please tell me." He begged her. She shook her head and pressed her face against his chest.

"I can't, not yet. Not till we retake Erebor." Fili felt frustrated, he wanted to help her but if she wouldn't tell him what was wrong he couldn't do anything. Ingrid whipped at her eyes then smiled at him.

"I don't want to spend tonight crying." She whispered as she kissed him again. This time the kiss was slow and deep. Fili could feel where the kiss was leading. The first thing he did was untie the leather strip that held Ingrid hair in place. Her auburn locks began to fall lose between his fingers. Fili broke the kiss and undid the belt that held her jacket on and pushed it off her shoulders. He reached for the hem of her tunic and pulled it up over her head revealing her bare torso. Fili gazed openly at her beautiful hour glass figure, he ran one hand along her hip as the other entangled in her hair pulling her in for another kiss. She pulled him back towards the bed working at the laces of his trousers as she went. Ingrid turned them around and Fili's legs hit the edge of the bed. She pushed him back onto the bed. He watched her as she pulled off her boots, noting that she didn't fall on her ass like he had in Rivendell. She also seemed to be taking her sweet time about undressing. Every movement seemed to be slowed as if to tease him. Fili clenched his teeth together just to try and keep calm. Finally she tugged her trousers down and stepped out of the pile of clothing. But still she seemed to hold back, running her fingers through her hair undoing what remained of her braid. The glow from the fire made her hair look like embers still blazing with life. Only, after walking slowly towards the bed, all the while swinging her hips in a seductive manner, did she finish what she had started and removed Fili's trousers. Ingrid climbed the rest of the way onto the bed and laid down beside Fili running a finger across his chest.

"Are you trying to torcher me?" Fili asked as he rolled onto his side wrapping an arm around her. She gave him a wicked smile.

"Well only a little." Ingrid admitted. Fili began to kiss her neck as he rolled her onto her back and moved between her legs. He kissed down her neck and to her breasts. Fili loved the little gasps and moans she would make when he kissed her there. If she could torcher him he planned on returning the favor. Once he had kissed every inch of her breasts he continued to move downward kissing her stomach and hips. Ingrid continued to moan at his kisses but he couldn't keep up the torcher. Fili moved up positioning himself at her entrance.

"I love you." He whispered in dwarvish and entered her. She let out a cry of pleasure and he closed his eyes letting the feeling of their union wash over him. Fili began to thrust into her, Ingrid wrapped her legs around his drawing him deeper inside her. Her arms were wrapped around him, he could feel her nails scrap against his skin but the small amount of pain seemed to only heighten the pleasure.

"My prince." Ingrid moaned in dwarvish. It was the first time in Fili's life where being called a prince made him smile. _And soon you'll be a princess._ Ingrid's moans soon began to drive Fili wild. All thought ceased and Ingrid was all that was real. The most primal part of him took over as he thrusted into her over and over again. His climax came as Ingrid moaned his name. Fili became lost in her, the feel of her, everything about her. He laid on Ingrid for a moment after his climax she was gently kissing his cheeks and brow. Fili rolled off of her still breathing hard, Ingrid cuddled up to him entwining her limbs with his. He ran his finger though her hair as he recovered.

"Soon we'll be in Erebor." He whispered to her. "Soon we'll be home." Ingrid pressed herself closer to him.

"As long as I have you Fili I am home." Fili smiled and brushed the hair from her face.

"Sleep now my love." He whispered as he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep peaceful sleep in the arms of the maiden he loved.

Morning came all too early and when Fili rolled over to reach for Ingrid he found her part of the bed empty. He hated the fact that they had to keep their relationship a secret but he understood why. Fili got out of bed and dressed for the day. The master was a grotesque man to say the least but they suffered him all the same. He greeted them lavishly escorting them to the armory to be fitted with armor and weapons. Fili noticed that Kili was looking even worse not that he would admit to it. The day passed by in relative boredom, Fili along with the rest of the company tried to find a way for them to leave early but the master kept insisting that they stay for the feast that night. So they endured to the best of their abilities at least at the feast there would be plenty to drink.

Finally the main event arrived. Fili sat along the benches with the rest of the company and the men that had been invited as well. The food was good and the drinks were flowing. Music and merriment was all a round. Fili watched Ingrid as she walk pass several of the guards who had been invited to the feast one reached out a hand grabbing her back side. Fili was about ready to fly over the table to tackle him for touching Ingrid. When Ingrid turned punched the guard in the face, knocking him out cold. The company cheered for her as she retook her place on the bench. To say the least none of the men there tried to fool around with Ingrid after that. The night passed on and at the midnight bell Fili excused himself from the table. Bofur was engaged in a drinking match with a guard and several other of the company including Kili had already went to bed. Fili made it to his room and laid out on the bed. Tomorrow they would retake Erebor. Ingrid appeared in his room not long after he arrived. She slipped out of her clothes and into bed with him. Though that night they did not make love, they just held each other. Fili tried to memorize everything he could about Ingrid every scar and every detail, he wanted to remember it all. As they laid in each other's arms they spoke of Erebor.

"Did you ever think you would see it?" Fili asked Ingrid.

"No, to be honest I never thought I would travel far beyond the Blue Mountains let alone across the world. And what do you think of becoming a prince tomorrow?" Fili thought it over for a moment.

"I'm really not sure. It's one thing to be told you're something but never really treated like it. It's another to actually become it. Ingrid, being king isn't something that I'm sure I can do. Thorin has groomed me to lead and rule but it's different now. Now that becoming king one day is a real possibility." Ingrid pressed her forehead against his clamming him.

"No matter what happens," she said, "I'll be there for you till the very end." Fili gave her a tight squeeze and nuzzled his face into her hair. Ingrid began to hum softly, it was the same lullaby he had heard her sing in the Mirkwood dungeons. The sound was soothing and soon he felt himself being carried off to sleep.

The next morning he woke before dawn with Ingrid still wrapped in his arms. She appeared to be awake already, Fili was glad she had not left like she did before. This was it, Durin's day had come and now was the last chance they had to find the hidden door. Ingrid didn't say anything as they both got out of bed and dressed. Fili knew what was riding on today everything they had been through had led to this moment. She slipped off to her own room to put on the armor the men of Lake Town had given them. Fili dawned his own armor feeling completely ridiculous in it. Fili found the rest of the company waiting at the front hall of the master mansion. The master himself seemed to only just be waking but they had no time to spare. As they made their way to the dock, Fili fell in next to his brother. Kili was sheet white and limping heavily. Fili knew there was no way to stop him and he would not hold his brother back from seeing the halls for their forefathers. People had already begun to fill the dock as the dwarves began to load their supplies that had been given to them on to the boat. As they began to board the boat Thorin stopped Kili from getting on. Fili couldn't believe it, after all they had been through to get here Thorin was going to take this away from Kili. Óin stepped off the boat to stay with Kili.

"Uncle we grew up on tale of the mountain. Tales you told us. You cannot take that away from him." Thorin tried to stop Fili but he wouldn't. "I will carry him if I must."

"One day you will be king and you will understand. I cannot rick the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf, not even my own kin." Fili looked to Ingrid for a moment. Their eyes met and she gave the tiniest of nods knowing what he had to do. Fili stepped off the boat but Thorin grabbed his arm.

"Fili don't be a fool. You belong with the company." Fili pulled away from Thorin.

"I belong with my brother." He went to join Kili and Óin. The master of the lake made some pompous speech and the company pushed off. Fili watched them good, Ingrid met his gaze. He had never felt more torn in his life but Ingrid was strong and could protect herself, she had the rest of the company there to watch her back. Kili needed him more right now and Ingrid understood, as the eldest Fili she knew she would do anything for her sisters just as Fili would do anything for Kili. Though a small part of Fili feared that if the dragon was alive in that mountain he would never see her again.


	18. Chapter 18

They rowed across lake to the slopes of Erebor. When Ingrid jumped onto the shore she couldn't believe it. There right in front of her was the lonely mountain in all its glory. The company began the climb up the slopes to find the hidden door. They marched up the rocky face pausing every once in a while for water and rest. About half way up the slopes Bilbo commented on how quiet it was. Balin told him of the days before Smaug's attack how all the slopes had been woodlands of great pines and cedars.

"Relax Mater Baggins." Thorin said, "We have food, we have tools and we are making good time." Something caught Thorin's attention and he ran to the top of a boulder. Ingrid fallowed and across a small valley they saw the ruins of Dale. The once great city reduced to rubble by the dragon. She thought how sad it was that so many life's had been destroyed by gold. They did not dwell their long, though Bilbo pointed out this was where they were meant to meet Gandalf. Thorin seemed too impatient to wait upon the wizard and time was running out. Ingrid could feel herself tiring from the climb but pressed on keeping up with the rest, now was not the time to show that she was getting weak. They trucked down the valley and back up towards the main gate, the sun had passed mid-day by then. Thorin peered at the map heading the company to the west face of the mountain. Ingrid and the others began to fan out searching for something anything that would lead them to the door. Then Bilbo yelled out,

"Over here!" Ingrid ran towards the hobbit to see what he had found. When she looked up there it was craved into the side of the mountain a staircase leading up the mountain side. The company moved in and began to climb. The steps were steep, carved out of the stone of the mountain itself, they zig-zagged up the face. The sun had started to set and they crossed the figure of a dwarven king, moving across his axe and finally up his shoulder. Ingrid stepped onto the flat out cropping and looked around, it looked like the perfect place to hid a door. Thorin ran to the cliff side moving his hands over the rock, he then turned to the company holding up the key,

"Let all those who doubted us rue this day." Thorin smiled as the company cheered. Dwalin set to work trying to find the key hole as the sun sunk lower into the sky. Ingrid felt like her heart was going to burst from her chest with excitement. The sun began to sink lower and still no key hole. Nori joined Dwalin but still nothing excitement began to turn to panic.

"We're losing the light. Break it down." Thorin ordered and Glóin, Dwalin, and Bifur began to beat away at the mountain. Their weapons shattered against the stone as the sun slipped below the hills. Ingrid couldn't believe it, after all they had been through to get here they hadn't found the door.

"It's no use." Balin yelled. "The door is sealed it can't be opened by force." The last rays of light vanished from the sky. Thorin pulled out the map reading over the words desperately.

"And the last light of Durin's day will shine upon the key hole." He looked to the company in shock. "That's what it says. What did we miss?" Ingrid felt tears stinging in her eyes. She had never seen Thorin look so defeated and to see her king like that meant that there was no hope left. He turned to Balin asking the same question.

"We've lost the light. There's no more to be done. We had but one chance." Balin said solemnly. Ingrid looked up at the mountain one last time before she turned to fallow the company. To come so close to only fail was far worse than she could have ever imagined. How were they going to tell the others back in Lake Town? She could see the looks on their faces and the thought of it broke her heart. Bilbo protested saying they couldn't give up so easily but it didn't matter the one chance they had was gone. They made their way back down the stone king. The company was just about to cross his axe when they heard Bilbo shouting desperately.

"The Key hole! Come back! Come back! It's the light of the moon the last moon of autumn!" Ingrid hearts leapt at the news the company spun around and climbed as quickly as they could back up to the ledge. She reached the top and saw Thorin standing there with the key in hand. Ingrid held her breath as Thorin walked to the mountain side and placed the key into the key hole and turned it. There was a soft click and Thorin pressed his hands against the stone. This was the moment of truth all they had endured and suffered had come to this one moment. With a light push the door swung open to reveal the halls of Erebor. Tears once again filled Ingrid's eyes but this time they were tears of joy. Thorin stepped into the entrance first fallowed by Balin. Ingrid moved ahead slowly with the others she had never seen Erebor, she hadn't even been born there. She paused for a moment before stepping into the mountain. _I'm home._ She placed a hand against her belly. _We're home. _For the first time Ingrid felt this was a place where she belonged where everyone in the company belonged. Ingrid gazed at the stone around her as Glóin read the inscription that was above the door. Bilbo asked what it was that sat above the kings throne in the carving.

"The arkenstone." Balin told him.

"The arkenstone, and what's that?" Bilbo asked.

"That, Master Burglar, is why you are here." Thorin told him. Balin led Bilbo down one of the halls into Erebor to explain what it was he had to find. Ingrid and the others returned to the ledge to wait. It was better they did not linger inside the mountain or their scent might wake the dragon. Several minutes later Balin returned and the fate of the quest road on the shoulders of one small hobbit. Ingrid walked to the edge of the cliff side and looked out towards Lake Town. It was a single speck of light against the dark. Fili was down there safe with his brother no matter what Bilbo found down in Erebor Fili and Kili would be safe. Ingrid's hand went to her belly again as she thought of the father of her child. It was then that Balin came up next to her. She dropped her hand away from her belly as Balin spoke,

"Are you alright lass?" He said in a soft voice.

"I'm perfectly fine." She said with a smile, "I just can't believe we made it. After everything we are finally here."

"Alright then I just wanted to be certain." Balin gave her a look that seemed to say he thought otherwise. Ingrid hoped that if Balin had found out about Fili and her, he wouldn't say anything to Thorin, at least not yet. They sat on the ledge waiting for Bilbo's return. It seemed like they were doing a lot of that lately, just sitting and waiting. Time ticked on till a great rumble came from under the ground shacking the mountain.

"Was that an earthquake?" Dori asked.

"That my lads, was a dragon." Balin told them. A hand seemed to clench around Ingrid's heart. Smaug was alive after all and Bilbo had wakened him. She feared for the little hobbit, he might have been brave and courageous but against a dragon what could one little hobbit do? Ingrid looked to the door hoping to see Bilbo running out at any moment. That Smaug had awakened only after Bilbo had found the arkenstone. Minutes slipped by with no sign of Bilbo then there was an explosion of light from within Erebor, then another and another.

"What about Bilbo." Ori said as the light glowed and faded.

"Give him more time." Thorin said. At the rate of the fire bursts Bilbo was running out of time. Balin said as much rounding on Thorin for being willing to sacrifice Bilbo to the dragon. Ingrid had to agree, Bilbo was one of the company and she would not leave him behind. Thorin stood there for a moment thinking staring up at the night sky. Without a word he picked up his sword and rushed into the mountain. Ingrid and the rest scrambled for their weapons and chased after him. Ingrid ran down the halls fallowing Balin and Dwalin towards the treasure room. They could see Thorin and Bilbo ahead of them. They ran out onto the landing turning to see the dragon headed right for them. Ingrid's heart stopped at the sight of Smaug. The dragon was gigantic and running straight at them. Only in her nightmares had such a beast ever attacked her. Smaug's massive chest glowed red as he bellowed,

"You will burn."

"Run." Thorin yelled and they dove off the edge of the landing into the gold below. They slipped and rolled and ran for the first hallway they saw. Smaug roared behind them, Ingrid could see the light from his fire as she sprinted down the hall. Thorin came screaming down a moment later his coat on fire. Thorin rolled onto the ground ripping off the burning fabric, he got to his feet in one swift movement.

"Come one." They fallowed him down the hall way. The company stayed close together and they moved deeper into Erebor. This was not the way she had expected to see the halls of her fathers, while running from a dragon. Soon they came to a long open bridge Thorin hushed the group and they listened. There was nothing, no sound at all.

"We've given him the slip." Dori said.

"No he's still coming for us." Dwalin growled.

"Where to now?" Bilbo asked.

"The western halls. There may be a way out." Thorin said

"It's too high, there's no chance." Balin said.

"It's our only chance. We have to try." With that they began to move. A way out was what they needed more than anything. There was no way that the eleven of them could take on Smaug. Ingrid gritted her teeth as they slowly creep across the bridge. Smaug didn't seem to be anywhere nearby but they still moved as silently as possible. They were almost half way across when a coin landed with a loud high ting against the stone. The company froze and looked at Bilbo for the coin had landed at his feet. Then there was the sound of another coin hitting the ground. Ingrid and the others looked up to see Smaug climbing over them. The dragon didn't seem to have noticed them and Thorin waved them on. Ingrid felt her heart thundering in her chest and feared it was beating so loud that the dragon would hear it. The company made it across the bridge and back under cover without Smaug noticing them. Once they were back in the halls the company sprinted forward. They ran down this passage and that, fallowing Thorin.

"This is it." He said as he turned into a door way. Ingrid stopped dead in her tracks at the sight that lay before them. Bodies lay pilled everywhere, dwarves of Erebor. As Ingrid looked she saw women and children were there in the greatest numbers. Her heart felt like it was going to break at the sight of her slaughtered kin.

"The last of our kin," Balin said, "they most have come here hoping beyond hope." Now there was no way out of Erebor they were trapped with a dragon hunting them. The company stood in silence for several long moments.

"We could try to reach the mines. We might last a few days." Balin said. Thorin stepped forward saying,

"No. I will not die like this. Cowering, clawing for breathe." Thorin turned and looked at the company. "We make for the forges."

"He'll see us, sure as death." Dwalin said.

"Not if we split up." Balin stepped towards Thorin.

"Thorin, we'll never make it."

"Some of us might. Lead him to the forges, we kill the dragon. If this is to end in fire then we will all burn together." Ingrid placed a hand against her belly. If she chose to stay and hide death was certain for her and her child. If she fallowed Thorin there was a chance she and her child would live. It was an easy choice to make. Thorin explained the plane and the company split up, Ingrid went with Dwalin and Nori. They ran along a different path then the others took but still headed to the forges. As they ran Smaug's voice echoed through the halls.

"Flee, Flee for your lives. There is nowhere to hide." Ingrid heard Dori yell at Smaug. Then Dwalin stopped them and got Smaug's attention. They bolted as the dragon threw himself towards them. They managed to reach cover as the dragon landed on the bridge they had crossed. Smaug however did not pursue them further, the others drew his attention away. They ran through the city weaving back and forth.

"Come on we're almost there." Dwalin yelled back to Nori and Ingrid. As they rounded a corner they saw Smaug going diving into the mines. Dwalin flew the edge and yelled,

"Thorin," He took his mace and smashed it into the pulley system that was unwinding wildly. It halted and began to spin the other way.

"Hold on." Dwalin yelled down. "Ingrid, Nori get ready on the other pulleys'." Ingrid sprinted to the closest one. She grabbed up a smithies hammer that was lying near the pulley. The system that had been pulling Thorin up creaked and groaned as it was pulled down. The metal could take not more, it snapped, ripping lose form the side tumbling down into the mines. Ingrid prayed it missed Thorin and injured Smaug as much as possible.

"Ingrid hit it." Dwalin yelled as he peered over the edge. Ingrid smashed the cogs of the pulley with all the strength she had. The iron sang when she struck it, breaking off sending the counterweight plummeting into the mines below. She ran to the edge of the platform and could make out Thorin racing towards her. Smaug let lose a jet of flame and Ingrid screamed,

"Thorin!" The flames chase him, gaining rapidly. Ingrid reached out a hand and grabbed Thorin's arm pulling him onto the platform as the flames erupted around them. Thorin grabbed her pushing her forward yelling to go. They ran into the forges where everyone was but for Glóin and Bifur.

"The plans not going to work." Dwalin said, "These furnaces are stone cold."

"He's right," Balin said, "and we have no fire hot enough to set them ablaze." Thorin smiled and looked back towards the mines.

"Have we not." He said. He moved to great iron gates.

"I didn't not look to see you so easily out witted." Thorin shouted as Smaug started to rise from the mine. "You've grown slow and fat in your dotage." _He's gone mad._ "Slug." _Now he's done it. _The dragon looked even more furious then before. Thorin looked at the company and smiled,

"Take cover." Ingrid ran for the nearest iron bar as Smaug roared sending flames screaming into the forges. Even though dwarves were naturally resistant to heat the fire that ripped around Ingrid felt hotter than any forge she had worked in all her life. When the fire stopped she watched as the forges begin to ignite. Ingrid ran away from the gates as Smaug began to crash into them trying to rip them down. Thorin began to shout orders, it only took Smaug a matter of moments to rip through the gate and start stalking through the forge. Ingrid stayed with Thorin, Dwalin and Nori. The dragon slithered forward and then turned towards them, his eyes narrowed on Thorin he stalked forward coming in for the kill.

"Now!" Thorin screamed, as the dragons' chest glowed red hot. Ingrid watched in horror as Smaug opened his mouth then water exploded from the mouths of the dwarf lords that watched over the forge. The water crashed into Smaug extinguishing the fire in his chest, steam exploded from where the water touched the dragon. It rolled off in great white sheets filling the air. Smaug screamed and roiled flapping his massive wings trying to get away from the water. The great water wheels began to spin moving the lines of mines carts overhead. Smaug however recovered more quickly than they would have liked. The dragon started coming at them again eyes fixed on Thorin. Then a flash of light exploded against the dragons head slowing him. Ingrid and the other cheered as Dori lobbed another jar of flash flame at the dragon. The flash flame hardly seemed to slow Smaug at all, when from above came a shout and the line on one of the cables was cut. The carts were filled with raw stone and crashed onto the dragon entangling him. Smaug thrashed wildly as he fought to free himself. Thorin opened the port on of the forges letting the molten gold flow out to make a glowing river. Thorin ran past Dwalin, Nori and Ingrid shouting,

"Lead him to the gallery of the kings." Thorin then returned a moment later with a wheelbarrow. Ingrid watched as he dodged around Smaug then pushed the barrow into the river of gold and jumped into it. Dwalin grabbed her arm,

"Come one." They ran out of the forges which, had been all but destroyed at that point and down toward the gallery of the kings. It wasn't far but by the time they got there, Bilbo was trying to stop Smaug from attacking Lake Town. If the plan worked the dragon would never be able to hurt anyone ever again. Dwalin, Nori and Ingrid found one of the chains that was connected to the pins in the statute and grabbed on. Thorin then provoked the dragon again. Smaug hissed at Thorin claiming that he was King under the Mountain.

"This is not your kingdom. These are dwarf lands. This is dwarf gold. And we will have our revenge." Thorin said then he yelled in dwarvish, "For Erebor." Ingrid pulled on the chain with all her strength. The pins came flying out of the statues back and the boulders toppled to the ground. The great golden stature of Thror was revealed in all its might and glory. The dragon looked entranced by the gold, but the core was still molten hot and the statue collapsed. Gold flowed over the dragon drowning him in it. It seemed a fitting end for a creature that coveted gold above all else. The surface settled and it looked for a moment like Smaug was gone for good. Then the dragon burst from the gold howling and screaming in pain.

"Revenge, Revenge. I'll show you revenge." The dragon skidded from the gallery. _No._ Ingrid sprinted form the gallery chasing after the dragon, fallowing the trail of gold he left behind. She heard him rip through the main gates of Erebor. It took her several minutes to reach them herself but when she looked out and into the night sky she saw the dragon soaring towards Lake Town. Ingrid fell to her knees screaming.


	19. Chapter 19

Ingrid had done her best she could to pull herself together as the rest of the company raced out of Erebor. Dwalin led them up to Raven's Hill, from there they could see everything. Ingrid watched helplessly as Smaug circled the city setting everything on fire. Her heart felt like it was being ripped from her chest as she slumped against one of the walls, listening to the screams that were carried on the wind. Even in her grief she nursed a small seed of hope, there was always a chance that they made it out. But, as the screams continued it seemed like no one would survive the inferno and once Smaug finished off Lake Town he would turn back to the mountain. The company sat together in collective grief. Bofur sat next to Ingrid putting a hand on her shoulder. She fought back the tears that were stung in her eyes, Ingrid would not cry not in front of them, not here, not now. Then there came a thundering crash from the lake.

"What was that?" Ori asked. "What happened?"

"It fell, I saw it." Bilbo said. Ingrid stood up to look at Lake Town the first rays of dawn light keep creeping up out of the east. Lake Town was still ablaze but Smaug could not been seen. She searched the skies and the lake but no dragon insight.

"It's dead. Smaug is dead." Bilbo said. A part of Ingrid felt relieved at the news though grief clung to her as ever.

"He's right." Gloin said, "Look there. The ravens of Erebor are returning to the mountain." Sure enough Ingrid looked up to see great black birds swooping in from the sky and fluttering towards the main gate. Her eyes turned back to the lake as Balin spoke of how soon everyone in middle earth would know that the dragon was dead. The company cheered at that and Ingrid could not deny she was glad the beast was dead but she couldn't look away from the lake. _Please be alright. Please, I have so much to tell you. _The company moved from Raven Hill back to Erebor. Thorin had gone ahead of them though to where, they did not know. Ingrid helped the company as they set up a camp of shorts in one of the halls. Though there was hope that Fili, Kili, Bifur, and Óin had survived the fire storm none of the company mentioned them for fear that speaking of their chance of survival would only mean that they had died already.

Fili and the others grabbed what supplies they would need from the wreckage that had floated up onto the shore. They began to load the boat that had saved them so they could get to the mountain. Fili worried about what they would find in the mountain. Once they had what they needed Fili, Bofur and Óin started to push the boat into the lake. Kili turned to speak with Tauriel, Fili still had little trust for elves but he knew how his brother felt about her, and without her help Kili would have died. They got the boat out into the water and started to paddle away from shore. Kili jumped into the boat before they got too far out from shore. They made their way out across the lake straight for Erebor. They didn't speak much as they went along, they knew what might lie in the mountain awaiting them. It took them a full day of rowing just to make it to the far shore before the slopes of Erebor. They were all exhausted from the trip and decided to camp by the lake shore for the night.

"Get a fire going." Fili told Bofur as he looked up at the mountain slopes. "It won't do us any good to try and climb the slopes by night. Get some rest, we leave at dawn." Fili felt more like Thorin than himself giving orders. He walked away from their little camp looking at the debris that was washing up on the shore. Once he was a little ways away from the group Fili reached into his boot and pulled out the ring. _Please be alright. _He prayed to Durin that they were all alive and waiting for them in Erebor. As Fili looked at the ring as the last bit of day light left the sky.

"Everything alright?" Kili asked him. Fili looked at his brother, Kili was the one person he had always been honest with no matter what it was.

"I'm worried. What if Smaug… what if…" Kili placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry I'm sure they're all fine." It was then that Kili noticed the ring in Fili's hand.

"Is that mothers?" Kili asked.

"Yes she gave it to me before we left, just as she gave you that rune stone. I wanted to give it to Ingrid when we retook the mountain but now…"

"Listen to me. Ingrid's strong and the rest of the company was with her, there's no way that anything happened to her." Hearing Kili say that helped but Fili still was afraid. They set out at dawn the next morning. Climbing slopes at a steady pace but without many provisions and Kili still on the mend, the going was slow. It took them another two full days to get to the overlook. On the third day they finally reached the gates of Erebor. The front gates had been smashed open by the dragon without a doubt. When they reached the bridge they could see into Erebor, the city was a wreck. Fili looked to the others and they ran across the bridge, they stopped just inside the walls to allow their eyes to adjust to the gloom.

"Hello!" Bofur shouted his voice echoing off the walls. "Bombur? Bifur? Anybody?" They began to move through the city. Bofur led the way towards the treasure hall. It seemed as likely as place as any to find someone. As they closed in of the treasure hall a voice called out to them.

"Wait! Wait!" Bilbo was running towards them at full speed.

"It's Bilbo." Fili said happily.

"Stop. Stop." They halted as Bilbo rushed up to them panting. "You need to leave. We need to leave."

"We only just got here." Bofur protested.

"I've tried talking to him but he won't listen."

"What do you mean lad?" Óin asked.

"Thorin! Thorin he's been down there for days. He doesn't sleep, he barely eats." Bilbo continued but Fili stopped listening he could see the glow of light below and if Thorin was alive he needed to see him. Fili rushed down the steps closer to the treasure hall he heard Bilbo and Kili calling after him. What he saw in the treasure hall was beyond his imagining. Gold lay in massive piles, there was more gold in the hall then one could be spent in a thousand life times. He looked around for Thorin when he heard his voice.

"Gold." Thorin was below them walking amongst the gold but there was something different about him. "Gold beyond measure, beyond sorrow or grief." Fili looked down at the dwarf below him. This was not the Thorin he knew, like all dwarves Thorin loved gold but this was something else entirely. Thorin looked up and saw them standing there.

"Behold the great treasure horde of Thror." His voice echoed of the walls. Fili couldn't believe what he was seeing and then Thorin threw something up to them. Fili caught it. It was the largest ruby Fili had ever seen.

"Welcome my sisters sons," Thorin smiled as he held out his arms. "to the kingdom of Erebor." Fili heard the words his mother had raised him on echo in his head. _Family before jewels and gold. _He dropped the ruby back into the pile of gold below and turned to Bilbo.

"Where are the others?"

"They're in one of the halls. I'll show you the way." Bilbo led them away from the treasure horde. Fili couldn't believe it Thorin had not asked how they survived the attack or even how Kili had recovered so quickly. Bilbo had been right the gold in Erebor had changed Thorin. Fili shook off the darker thoughts as they made their way to the hall. Bilbo gave them a few final directions then headed back to the treasure hall. Inside the hall they saw Balin and Dwalin sitting at a table.

"Balin." Bofur said. Balin smiled and Dwalin laughed at the sight of them. The others in the room began to look up at them too. Fili saw all of them embracing each in turn Bifur, Bombur, Glóin, Balin, Dwalin, Ori, Nori and Dori. He was thankful that each and every one of them was alive and well. The last person he saw was Ingrid, she looked just a beautiful as ever. Fili pushed past Nori and Bombur running to her. Ingrid was running to him as well. She all but jumped into his arms he held her more tightly than he ever had before. Fili then kissed her full on the mouth not carrying if everyone was there watching them. Ingrid pulled away from him blushing.

"Ingrid," he said summoning all the courage that he could, "I have something I need to ask you, before anything else happens." Fili got down on one knee taking Ingrid's hand in his and pulling the ring from his pocket.

"Fili." She said with a gasp.

"Ingrid will you do me the great honor of becoming my wife." Fili felt his heart clench as Ingrid stood there, in what he hoped was just shock. It took her a moment but she smiled and said,

"Yes. Yes I will." Fili had never felt so happy in his entire life. He slipped the ring onto Ingrid's finger stood up and kissed her again. He could hear the company cheering behind them. When they broke apart everyone started to congratulate them and exchange some coins.

"What's going on?" Ingrid asked. Fili still had an arm around her waist and he was wondering the same thing.

"Oh come now." Bofur said calmly. "We all knew about you two so we decided to make it a little wager as to when you would finally tell us." Fili and Ingrid burst out laughing, after everything they had done to try and keep their relationship a secret everyone had found out anyway. Just then Thorin and Bilbo appeared in the door way.

"What's going on here?" Thorin asked harshly. Fili let go of Ingrid and walked up to Thorin. There was something he had to asks his uncle for,

"Uncle, I would like to ask for your blessing." Thorin looked at him suspiciously.

"Blessing? For what might I ask?" Fili grinned and held out a hand to Ingrid which she took.

"For our marriage." Bilbo's eye looked as though they were about to pop out of his head at the news. _Well at least one person didn't know. _Thorin looked from Fili to Ingrid coolly giving away no sign of either joy or displeasure. Fili watched as his uncle looked at the ring that now decorated Ingrid's hand. For a moment it Fili thought Thorin would not give his blessing to them.

"Very well. If you wish to marry her, then so be it. You have my blessing." Ingrid smiled at Fili but Thorin wasn't finished. "You two will be wed tonight at sundown for tomorrow our search for the arkenstone begins." Thorin turned and walked away. That wasn't exactly what Fili had expected that to go but he was happy all the same. He still was worried about Thorin, Fili had hoped that announcing his marriage would help Thorin act more like his old self but that didn't seem to be the case. Before Fili had a chance to talk with his bride, Balin had swept her off somewhere. Kili and Dwalin stopped him from going after them.

"What's going on?" He asked them.

"You're getting married tonight." Dwalin said with a grin on his face. Fili stared at the dwarves around him who were all grinning.

"Yes, so?" Fili knew what they were thinking about doing.

"There are traditions that need to be upheld." Bofur said with a wicked look in his eye. Fili look to his brother for support but Kili appeared to be with Bofur on this one. The next thing Fili knew he was being lifted up on the companies shoulders and whisked off somewhere to drink and celebrate his last day as a bachelor. Fili also made note that he was going need something better to wear to his wedding other than the filthy clothes he had on. The day passed full of laughter and joy. Balin and Dori did not join the festivities they stayed with Ingrid instead to keep her company and help her get ready for their wedding. Kili kept trying his best to get Fili to drink as much as possible but Fili wanted to remember this day. Dwalin joked that the real reason Fili wasn't drinking so much was so he could enjoy his bride that night. This made Fili blush which in turned, only ended up earning him more jests and bawdy jokes. It was still a few hours before sundown when Fili and Kili went off to try and find something suitable for both of them to wear.

Eventually they found their way to the royal apartments looking for what clothes had been left behind. It felt strange walking around in their families' old home. Fili and Kili wandered from room to room searching for clothes to wear. In one room they found a massive pile of toys and large number of small dresses.

"Do you think this was mothers' room?" Kili asked as the continued to look around.

"I don't see why it wouldn't have been. She was only a little girl when the mountain fell." They moved on to the next room. Inside they found clothes that looked to be about their sizes, they looked through the trunks picking out what they liked best. After searching for a little while longer Fili and Kili both found enough clothes that suited them. Fili changed out of the clothes he had been given at Lake Town and into his fresh ones. He looked at himself a mirror he had found, it felt good to be wearing clothes that had been made for a dwarf once again. He also felt somewhat like a prince in the clothes he had found. The fabrics were rich and thick and had intricate designs embroidered on them. His belt was thick leather studded with iron. Overall his outfit was quiet princely. Suddenly and unexpectedly Fili began to feel nervous about what was to come. Everything felt to so real in that moment. Here in the mountain that was his home and one day his kingdom, he was about to wed the love of his life the most beautiful and fierce dwarf maid he had ever met. There was a knock on the door and Kili came in. Fili smiled at this little brother.

"Are you ready?" Kili asked. Fili took a deep breath to calm himself and walked out into the hall with Kili. Thorin was waiting for them in the throne room. He sat upon the throne appearing to be deep in thought, upon his brow sat the raven crown of the king under the mountain. Thorin looked up at Fili and Kili as they entered. Without a word he stood leading them off to one of the side chambers attached to the throne room. Inside was a hall filled with torches blazing in the wall sconces, they bathed the room in a warm yellow glow. Fili saw that every member of the company was there except for Balin and Ingrid. They stood near the front of the smiling at the heirs of Durin. Thorin, Fili and Kili walked to the front of the hall together. Thorin stood in the middle while Fili and Kili stood off to the side. He was about to marry Ingrid, Fili felt his heart beginning to race. A moment later the doors at the back of the hall opened and Balin walked in with Ingrid on his arm. Fili felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of her. She was wearing a long white gown with beautiful design work along the hem and selves in silver thread. The shape of the dress complimented Ingrid's figure perfectly. Her hair had been taken out of its usually braid and flowed down her back in long waves. Ingrid met Fili's eyes and smiled, she was blushing, Balin walked her down the aisle to Fili. He then presented Ingrid to Fili. Fili reached out a hand for hers and together they stood before Thorin. Fili was thankful that dwarven weddings were short affairs, mostly because the guests were eager for the party afterwards. Ingrid and Fili both swore their vows and Thorin spoke,

"As King under the Mountain I bind these two as one let no force tear them apart." Thorin then looked to Fili and smiled at him. That smile belonged to the Thorin Fili knew and loved. "Fili, you may kiss your bride." Fili cupped Ingrid's cheek in his hand and kissed her. The company erupted in applause and cheered loudly for the newlyweds. As Fili pulled away from Ingrid, he felt hands lifting him up into the air. He held tight to Ingrid's hand as the company carried them out of the hall cheering all the while. Fili looked over his shoulder at Thorin who was standing there watching them go, smiling proudly to himself. _Perhaps there is still hope. The dragon sickness may yet pass him by._ The company carried them to a hall where a table and benches had been set up. Food and drinks were already laid out for them, it was no grand feast by any means but it was enough for them. The company sat together eating and toasting to the future. Thorin never came to the feast however which saddened Fili. It was nearly midnight when Ingrid and Fili were able to escape from the party. They would let the others continue the merriment. They had other duties to attend to.

Fili took Ingrid's hand and led her up the stairs to the room that had been prepared for them. Fili didn't like thinking about the fact that the company had set up the room that they were about to use to consummate their marriage. He put the thought aside as he looked at Ingrid. She was so beautiful he could hardly stand it. Fili couldn't seem stop smiling at her, once they reached the room Fili bolted the door behind them, he didn't want any interruptions tonight. The room was aglow with fire light from hearth and the candles that flickered around the room. Fili pulled Ingrid against him kissing her. There something about her being his wife now made him lust for her even more.

"Well now, wife, what do you say we…" Ingrid cut him off with a short kiss.

"I think my husband has had too much to drink to day." She scolded playfully. Fili rolled his eyes at her.

"Not nearly enough according to my brother." Ingrid giggled at that and Fili turned his attention back to her. They kissed and caressed each other and removed their clothes. Fili struggled with the laces on the back of Ingrid's dress for several minutes and was thankful she preferred to wear male clothing most of the time, which was much simpler to get off. They tumbled into bed and made love for the first time as husband and wife. Fili thought that it was even sweeter than the first time they had been together back in Rivendell. After their love making was over they laid together whispering sweet nothings to each other.

"Fili," Ingrid whispered "I have something I need to tell you." Fili nuzzled his face against her hair, he could feel sleep starting to pull at him.

"What is it, love?" He whispered into her hair. She stayed quiet for several moments.

"Fili," she paused again, "you're going to be a father." Fili's eyes widened at the words and the pull of sleep vanished.

"Are you certain?" He asked sitting up looking at Ingrid. She nodded softly sitting up as well. Fili looked at her in shock unable to say anything.

"Are you angry?" Ingrid asked. Fili snapped out of his shock.

"Angry? No I'm not angry. I just can't believe it." Fili reached out gingerly, lightly placing his hand against her belly. When he touched her he felt a tiny bump he hadn't noticed before. He felt a million different emotions come flooding over him at once. One question stuck in his mind though.

"How long have you known?" He asked her. Ingrid bit her lip then answered,

"I figured it out when we were imprisoned in Mirkwood." Fili felt his jaw go slack, Mirkwood.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to worry any more than you already do. You would have put yourself in more danger to protect me and I couldn't let you do that." Fili should have been angry with her for not telling him sooner but he was so happy that he couldn't get mad. Fili kissed Ingrid leaving his hand against her belly. _A father, I'm going to be a father. _

"Just promise me something." He said after he pulled away from her, Ingrid nodded. "Next time you find out your with child tell me sooner." Ingrid laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I promise you'll be the first to know." They laid back down in bed. Fili pulled the furs up over them and cuddled close to Ingrid. He couldn't help himself from placing on hand against her belly protectively. Fili swore a vow to Durin that he would protect Ingrid and their child for the rest of his life no matter what.


	20. Chapter 20

Ingrid woke the next morning to the sound of someone pounding on the door. She opened her eyes still groggy from sleep. When she pressed her hand against her head she felt something strange. She looked at her hand to see the ring Fili had given her. Ingrid was not used to wearing rings let alone one as beautiful as this. Ingrid admired the intricate metal work and how perfectly the emerald sat in the center. She did wonder if Lady Dis would be alright with her son giving the ring to her. She knew that the ring was the same one that Vili, Fili and Kili's father, had given to Dis when he had asked for her hand. Ingrid was honored to be wearing it now and hoped Lady Dis would be happy too. From what she remembered of Dis she was a kind and gentle but stern when it came to raising her sons. Fili was also just stirring next to her, she smiled at the sight of his mass of tangled hair and still mostly asleep eyes. Then a voice called from outside the door,

"Fili, Ingrid wake up times wasting." It was Thorin. Ingrid dropped her head back down on the pillows groaning. Even the morning after their wedding he was barking orders. Fili rolled over and wrapped his arms around her. Thorin yelled at them once more to get up then it sounded as if he had left.

"So much for a honeymoon." Ingrid groaned. Fili laughed and kissed her brow giving her a tight squeeze.

"Well we do need to find the arkenstone." Fili pointed out. Ingrid nodded in agreement and proceeded to get out of bed. She walked over to a trunk in the corner of the room and began to rummage through the clothes inside. It didn't take her too long to find some that looked like they would fit her. When Ingrid turned to start changing she saw Fili still lying in bed watching her. He had propped himself up on one arm and the furs on the bed were pooled around his waist. Ingrid thought of how incredibly handsome he looked right then and wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed with him.

"What?" She asked.

"You're just so beautiful." Ingrid laughed as she started to get dressed. Fili always made her laugh when he said things like that. She had just pulled on her trousers when Fili came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He gently kissed the back of her neck. Ingrid wished that they could stay in bed all day just the two of them but they had to help find the arkenstone. She also didn't want Thorin coming back and yelling at them again.

"Are we going to tell the company?" Fili said as he rested a hand on her belly.

"No not yet. Let's wait a few days."

"Why should we wait? This is wonderful news to tell them."

"You remember how they tried to get you drunk before our wedding. Now imagine what

they'll do when they find out you're going to be a father."

"Fair enough." Fili murmured against her neck continued to kiss her, brushing her hair out of the way.

"Fili stop that." He chuckled.

"Why should I?"

"Because you don't want Thorin coming back here, do you?" Fili pressed his forehead against her shoulder as if debating if it was worth Thorin wrath to stay in bed. Eventually let go of her and started to get dressed himself. Once they were both dressed they made their way back to the treasure hall. The sight of all the gold was still amazing to Ingrid. As a child she had heard to the stories of the great treasure horde but never dreamed it would be this large. When she and Fili arrived the rest of the company was already looking through the gold for the stone. Ingrid walked over to a pile and started to search. The gold coin slid and shifted under her boots making it somewhat difficult to keep a solid footing without slipping down. Ingrid watched Fili go over to his brother who gave Fili a punch in the shoulder. She smiled and shook her head, _boys will be boys_. The hours passed on as the company crawled over the treasure hall. Every now and then Ingrid would come across a white jewel but it would always turn out to be a diamond or some other stone. Thorin could yell down to them every so often to see if they had found it yet but no one had.

Days passed and the company must have searched the treasure hall at least five times over and still no arkenstone. Every day that passed with no luck finding the stone Thorin seemed to grow angrier, he began to pull away from the company a little more each day. He seemed to prefer the company of gold and jewels to kin. Ingrid could tell Fili was worried about him, dragon sickness was something that ran deep in their family. Ingrid also feared for Thorin as well she had never seen dragon sickness first hand but she had heard stories of what it could do to a person. To see her king, the dwarf she had fallowed across the world, suffer from that would be painful to watch. Ingrid also feared for Fili, she knew he wasn't Thror but Thorin had often said the same thing. After another day of fruitless searching Balin and Dwalin had gone to tell Thorin that once again they still hadn't found the stone. Ingrid sat with Fili in the hall where the rest of the company had taken to spending their free time. Erebor was so large that each member could have had their own section of the city and never seen another soul but something about the stillness didn't sit well with any of them. They preferred to stay together, every now and then someone would go off and explore the city. Bombur ended up finding a large amount of wine that had been hidden away and had survived during Smau's tenure under the mountain. As Ingrid looked around the room all she saw was disheartened faces. They should have found the arkenstone by now and with Thorin slipping away there didn't seem to be the joy they thought they would find in Erebor. Ingrid took Fili's hand and whispered,

"Maybe we should tell everyone tonight. They need something to lift their spirits." Fili smiled at her.

"All right we'll tell them after supper tonight." Ingrid gave Fili a kiss before she stood up to go look around Erebor. It wasn't the first time she had wandered the vast halls but she still found new things everything she did. As she walked along she hummed softly to the baby. Ingrid looked into different halls that she came across. Erebor was just as she dreamed it would be though there would have to be a fair amount of work done to repair the damage that Smaug had caused. Ingrid could imagine how Erebor had been back in its days of glory, full of life and laughter. _Hopefully soon it will be filled with life again. _The dwarves all around middle earth would soon hear that Smaug was dead and the dwarves of Erebor would return to their homeland. Ingrid thought about her sisters, it would probably take them close to a year to make the journey but it would be worth it and by that time she be close if not already had her baby. Ingrid smiled when she thought of the looks on their faces to see her married and having a baby. They had always said Ingrid was married to her sword and it would take one special dwarf to turn her head. Ingrid continued to walk around the city till she felt herself tiring, though that still took several hours of walking to do. She made her way back to the hall to find everyone sitting down for supper. Ingrid found a spot next to Fili and grabbed a bowl of stew. She ate it gladly, the food was starting to run low and without Lake Town to trade with things were going to get scarce. The company ate and talked quietly, they all knew that Thorin was falling prey to the dragon sickness and they all feared what he would become. Once the food had been cleared away Fili spoke up,

"We have something to tell everyone." The company hushed and looked over the Fili and Ingrid. Fili took Ingrid's hand in his as his stomach twisted into a knot. By all rights he shouldn't have been nervous to tell them but he couldn't tell if it was nervousness or excitement.

"What is it lad?" Balin asked with a hint of concern in his voice. Every eye in the company was fixed on them. Fili took a deep breath and said,

"Ingrid and I…well…" Fili couldn't believe he was choking on the words. Ingrid came to his rescue.

"What Fili is trying to say is that we're expecting a baby." For a moment everyone was silent as the news sunk in. Kili let out a shout of joy and the company exploded in celebration. They each gave Ingrid a kiss on the cheek and proceed to smack Fili around.

"Bombur go get that wine we found." Dwalin yelled. "Fili is going to be a father." Everyone roared at that cheering. Fili turned to leave when Bofur grabbed his arm,

"Where are you going?" Fili smiled at him.

"To tell Thorin." Bofur let him go at that. Fili hurried down to the treasure room as Oin began to fuse over Ingrid, scolding her for not saying anything till now. Fili had learned the route to the treasure room and did not get lost as he had several time before. When he entered the hall he called out,

"Uncle!" His voice bounced off the high ceilings and walls echoing back to him. Thorin appeared from behind a pile gold. Fili leapt down the last few steps, he could hardly contain the joy he was feeling.

"Fili what is it?" Thorin asked softly. Fili clapped a hand on Thorin's shoulder and spoke,

"I have some wonderful news." Fili watched as Thorin's face lit up.

"The arkenstone. You found it!" Fili shook his head no and continued.

"No, it's Ingrid, she pregnant. I'm going to be a father." The smile faded from Thorin's face.

"Is that all." He said coldly. Fili couldn't believe it, he stepped away from Thorin.

"Uncle I thought that would make you happy. My wife is carrying the next heir of Durin." Thorin turned his back to Fili looking at the gold again.

"The only think that will bring me joy is the return of what is mine by rights." Fili continued to recoil from Thorin. _Family before jewels and gold. _

"Uncle…"

"Leave me." Thorin said coldly. Fili turned and climbed back up to the hall. He felt like a part of him had been crushed. The real Thorin would have been glad to hear the news that the next heir of Durin was to be born. He would have congratulated Fili and embraced Ingrid as a niece. _It's the dragon sickness. It's already poisoning his mind. _When Fili returned to the hall the wine was flowing and everyone was smiling happily. It almost made it possible to forget what Thorin had said in the treasure room. Kili threw a drink into Fili's hands smiling and cheering that he was going to be an uncle. Fili looked to Ingrid how was talking and laughing with Dori and Nori. Fili looked at the drink in his hand and drained the contents in a matter of moments. He wanted to forget what Thorin had said and enjoy this night, let the worries wait till tomorrow. Fili would let his brother and the others encourage him to drink more than he should and with any luck the wine would help drown out the pain.


	21. Chapter 21

Just over a week had passed since Fili and Ingrid had made the announcement to the company. Ingrid stood in front of the mirror in her and Fili's room looking at her belly. It was starting to become clear that she was pregnant. Though the bump wasn't very large it could be seen against her formally flat stomach. Fili was lying out of the bed sharpening a dagger when he said,

"What about Halli for a boy." He posed as he continued to sharpen the dagger methodically running the whet stone along its edge. Ingrid pulled her tunic back down into place and said,

"Let's put that one down as a maybe." Fili laughed and set the dagger and stone down.

"You've said that to the last five names." Ingrid shrugged.

"I don't know, it's just none of them feel quite right is all." Ingrid walked over and sat down the edge of the bed. She and Fili had been trying to come up with baby names for the past week and so far none had really been sticking for either a boy or a girl. Fili sat up placing a hand on her belly and kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't worry we have plenty of time to figure one out." He then bent over and lightly kissed her belly. Ingrid liked when he did that it made everything feel complete.

"Be honest do you want a boy or a girl?" She asked Fili. He thought for a moment.

"I really won't mind either way as long as the baby is heathy and strong." Ingrid smiled and gave his a kiss. She felt the same way though it was more likely that they would have a boy, a girl was still a possibility. Someone knocked on their door loudly.

"Come in." Fili said. It was Dwalin who opened the door, the expression on his face was somewhat concerned.

"Thorin want's everyone at the front gate." Fili and Ingrid stood up at the same time.

"Why? What's going on?" Fili asked.

"Survivors from Lake Town are pouring into Dale." _Why would Thorin call us to the gate for that? _Ingrid wondered as she and Fili fallowed after Dwalin. When they reached the gate the rest of the company had already arrived. Thorin was standing there as well looking out at Dale.

"Get the braziers lit." He ordered. Ingrid watched as Bofur and Bifur scurried up the stairs to the two massive braziers that stood just outside the main gate. There were several showers of sparks then the braziers sprung to life with fire. The coal that fed them were still ready for use after all this time. Ingrid knew the reason why Thorin wanted them lit, it was to show that they were alive and the mountain was theirs. Thorin then turned to the company and said,

"We need to rebuild the gate." Ingrid looked at Thorin in surprise for a moment but did not refuse. Thorin disappeared back into the mountain as the company set to work moving stones away from the gate and rebuilding what Smaug had destroyed. They set up two pulley systems to move the heavier boulders and began to put the stones into place. Ingrid moved stones with the rest of them hauling them across and fitting them in place. They were about half way up the gate when Thorin returned.

"I want this fortress made safe by sun up. This mountain was hard won I will not see it taken again." Ingrid handed the rock she had been moving off to Fili to be placed when Kili spoke up,

"The people of Lake Town have nothing. They came to us in need, they have lost everything." Thorin had just reached the top of repair when he turned on Kili.

"Do not tell me what they have lost. I know well enough their hardship." Thorin turned and looked at the fire that could be seen glowing in Dale. "Those that have lived through dragon fire should rejoice. They have much to be grateful for." Ingrid turned and placed another rock into Fili's hands.

"More stone!" Thorin shouted as he too started to move a rock into place. Ingrid bent down heaving another stone up towards Fili when a stab of pain ripped through her. She gasped dropping the stone and falling back against the rocks.

"Ingrid!" Fili yelled throwing down the rock he had been placing and sprinting to her side. He placed on hand behind her head and the other against her belly.

"Óin!" Fili shouted. "Ingrid what's wrong." The pain had started to pass by then, Ingrid didn't know what had happened when Óin came up to her.

"What happened lass."

"There was just a sharp pain. It's gone now. But, Óin is something wrong is the baby…" She dare not finish the question. Óin placed a hand against her brow and took her pulse.

"You don't need to worry lass. This can sometimes happen if you push yourself too hard." Thorin came over at that moment looking annoyed that they had stopped working.

"What happened?" He said harshly.

"Ingrid pushed herself too far, she needs to rest." Óin said. Thorin looked at Ingrid in a disapproving manner. Ingrid felt ashamed, she had never wanted to see Thorin look at her that way.

"We have no time for her to rest. We have to secure the mountain." Fili stood up confronting his uncle.

"If she pushes herself too far something could happen to our child. Your kin, your blood." Ingrid stood up placing a hand on Fili's arm stopping him.

"Fili it's alright I'll keep going." Thorin smiled then but it was a hard smile not truly reaching his eyes

"Good, then get moving." Fili looked to Óin as Thorin walked away.

"Is she really alright?" Óin looked to Ingrid.

"I suggest that you help Bilbo bring more stone up. It will be lighter work that way." Ingrid nodded and went off to find the hobbit. Bilbo and Kili had just finished unloading the cart of stones they had brought up.

"I'll go down with Bilbo this time." Ingrid said. Kili looked at her for a moment then nodded. Ingrid picked up the handles of the cart and turned it around head back for more stone. Bilbo quickly fell in step with her looking at her worriedly.

"Ingrid, are you alright?" Ingrid smiled at the little hobbit.

"As well as I can be." Bilbo walked beside her quietly. Ingrid sensed there was something the hobbit wanted to say.

"What are you afraid to say Bilbo?" She asked softly. The hobbit fidgeted for several moments as they came to a pile of stones that Smaug had broken lose. Ingrid began to pick some up and throw them into the cart.

"Just be careful with Thorin." Ingrid paused looking at Bilbo in bewilderment.

"Why would I need to do that?" Thorin was her king, she had fallowed him across the world, fought by his side, and had become a part of his family.

"It's just a feeling but promise me you'll be careful around him." Ingrid knew that Thorin and Bilbo had become closer ever since Bilbo had saved him from Azog back in the misty mountains. Ingrid nodded trusting him to mean what he said.

"All right I promise." Though she had no idea what she needed to be careful about. Ingrid puzzled it over in her mind, what could she have done to cause Bilbo to give her this warning. Ingrid and Bilbo loaded the cart and returned to the gate. Ingrid made sure that she stayed busy helping in any way she could to fortify the gate but also keep in mind her limits. She ran to fetch water or food when the others needed it, moved what stones she could, replaced chisels that had been worn out and checked the ropes on the pulley systems. Through the night they worked and just before dawn the gate was finished. The company stood back to admire the work they had accomplished. Everyone was exhausted and needed sleep and the company had no strength left to make it to their own rooms. They merely lay down next to the gate and slept. Ingrid and Fili leaned against a wall, where Ingrid rested her head against his shoulder and fell into a deep sleep. It could have been hours or minutes later but she woke to Thorin's yelling.

"Get up all of you." The company stirred, Thorin stood above them on the gate. Ingrid felt stiff from sleep on the stones but some sleep was better than none. She rose stretching out her stiff back. Ingrid climbed the steps up the gate with the rest of the company from the light that was coming into Erebor she guessed it was still early morning. What she saw in Dale made her heart drop. There in the city stood rack upon rack of woodland realm soldiers. It was Thranduil without a doubt come to reclaim what was his. Ingrid had seen the white gems that the elf king desired. Thorin had found them a few days before claiming that Thranduil would pay a pretty price to get them back. But, with the host he had brought before Erebor he would take back what was his by any means necessary.

"Elvish bastard." Thorin cursed under his breath. "Make ready for war." The company looked at Thorin who was already headed back into Erebor. Ingrid and the rest headed for the armory. Once there they grabbed their weapons of choice. Ingrid found a sword that suited her as well as a bow and quiver of arrows. The company returned to the gate waiting for Thorin's instruction. It was several more hours before Thorin appeared and lead them up the gate. They reached the top and saw a man riding towards them. As he drew closer Ingrid saw it was Bard. He pulled up on the rains before he crossed the bridge yelling out.

"Hail Thorin son of Thrain. We are glad to find you alive beyond hope." Ingrid stood beside Fili watching and listening.

"Why do you come before the gates of the King under the Mountain armed for war?" Thorin asked coolly.

"Why does the king fence himself in, like a robber in his hold?" Bard replied.

"Perhaps it is because I am expecting to be robbed." Thorin called back to the bargeman.

"My lord, we have not come to rob you. But to seek fair settlement. Will you not speak with me?' Ingrid watched Thorin closely as he nodded to Bard and turned headed down the stairs. Before he reached the bottom he opened the rage that held a raven within. When the door opened the bird flew out of Erebor and off towards the Iron Hills. Ingrid knew that Thorin was calling for aid from his cousin Dain, Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin began to speak with Bard as the rest of the company made their way down. The company waited as Thorin spoke to the bargeman for a time. Thorin turned away from the crack in the rock that they had used to speak looking at the company. They stood ready to fight to defend Erebor, though Ingrid could not help but feel this was an enemy they did not need to make. Thorin turned his head back to the crack and yelled,

"Be gone! Let our arrows fly!" Ingrid moved a hand against her belly. _Why would Thorin do this? _They climbed back to the top of the gates and watched Bard ride away.

"What are you doing?" Bilbo asked. The company turned to look at him as he continued.

"You cannot go to war." Thorin still stared out at Dale as he spoke,

"This does not concern you."

"Excuse me but in case you haven't noticed there is an army of elves out there! And, not to mention several hundred angry fisherman. We are in fact out numbered." Thorin turned to Bilbo and smiled,

"Not for much longer." Bilbo looked confused.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, Master Baggins, that you should never underestimate dwarves." Thorin looked to the company and continued,

"We have reclaimed Erebor. Now we defend it." Thorin started down the steps. Ingrid took ahold of Fili's hand, when his eyes met hers he knew that he felt the same as she did. This was a war they did not need to fight, there was no reason to waist lives. Thorin had promised the people of Lake Town to help rebuild their city and now they truly needed Thorin's help. _How can he turn them away? It's just the same way Thranduil turned him away all those years ago._ Ingrid would fallow her king though even if she did not agree with him. She would also stay by her husband's side and defend him throughout the battles to come.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey everyone just to let you all know I'm going to start doing some drawings of the company and Ingrid soon. They will be posted on my deviantart page. Check it out if you're interested,****here's a link to my page**

The company headed to the armory to make ready for war. Ingrid had never been a part of a true battle in her life. She had heard stories growing up of the great battles of the past, her own father had fought in the battle of Moria and had told her and her sisters the tales. She wondered if her father would be proud of her, of everything she had survived and done. Ingrid pulled a shirt of chain mail of one of the mannequins and over her head. It was a little tight around her chest but that couldn't be helped the mail had been designed for a man not a woman. A hand grabbed ahold of hers pulling her to one of the side rooms of the armory. Fili looked at her like she had gone mad.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a hard voice.

"Making ready for battle." Ingrid responded calmly. Fili was already wearing a steal scaled vest and gauntlets. Ingrid had never seen him in real armor before. Fili looked like a true dwarven prince ready to defend his kingdom to the bitter end.

"No you're not. You are staying as far away from the battle as possible." Fili said firmly.

"No I'm not. I'm going to be at your side no matter what." Fil grabbed ahold of her shoulders almost shaking her.

"I can't let you do that Ingrid. You're carrying our child. I can't let you put yourself or our child in that kind of danger." Ingrid reached out taking her husband's face in her hands.

"And I swore a vow to Durin to protect you. Our baby is going to have a father and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that happens." Ingrid took Fili's hand placing it on her belly. She knew even through the mail he could feel the swell from where their child was growing inside her. Ingrid could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't going to let this go.

"I'll be fine." He said firmly. "You need to stay here in Erebor where you'll be safe. I'll lock you up if that's what it takes." Ingrid smiled at his stubbornness. She ran her fingers threw his hair and pressed his forehead to hers.

"You can't stop me Fili. I belong with the company. I belong at your side, two bound as one remember?" She laid a hand over Fili's heart. He stood there in silence for a moment eventually he shook his head pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" He whispered into her ear.

"Would you love me if I wasn't?" Fili let her go with a small smile playing on his lips.

"Will you promise me something?" Ingrid nodded. Fili ran his fingers along her braid and spoke,

"Stay out of the thick of battle. Use your arrows, stay away as much as you can." Ingrid smiled.

"I promise to stay out of the thick of battle as much as I can. But I will defend you whatever the circumstance may be." Fili kissed her gently. It was a sweet kiss but full of sadness. Ingrid was all too aware of what might happen in the battle to come but she would to everything in her power to keep Fili alive. They returned to the armory and continued to don the armor of their people. Thorin had found a vest of mithril down in the vaults and presented it to Bilbo as a gift. The little hobbit was too small for any of the other armor they had and the mithril would keep him safer than any breast plate could. Thorin pulled Bilbo off to the side as Ingrid finished tying on her gauntlet. She strapped her sword belt around her waist, slung her bow and quiver across her back, and picked up a spear. The company moved back towards the hall to await the dawn. They all knew the elves would attack then as it was their way, it would give the elves and men of Lake Town time to organize and strategize. All the company could was hope that Iron Foot was on the march with an army from the Iron Hills. Ingrid and Fili sat together all through the night hands entwined. Every now and then one of them would sleep for a time while the other would stay awake in case of news.

It was just before dawn when the dwarves of Erebor climbed to the top of the gate. Ingrid could see in the early dawn light the elves that stood before the doors of the mountain. They were hopelessly outnumbered, even with the walls of Erebor to help them there was no way to defeat this army. The sun rose higher into the sky and the army did not move. It was agonizing to stand there waiting, _if they want to fight then fight already. _The sun was full in the sky by the time that Thranduil and Bard made their approach to the gate.

"Ingrid," Thorin said. "Give me your bow." Ingrid handed her bow and quiver over to Thorin, who proceeded notched an arrow. Thranduil and Bard came to the edge of the bridge, Thorin let the arrow fly. It struck the ground just in front of Thranduil's massive stag, they halted as Thorin drew another arrow.

"I'll put the next one between your eyes." Thorin warned. The company cheered and Bifur yelled curses at the elves. Thranduil just smirked and his arches moved in perfect unison, drawing their arrows back aimed at the dwarves. Ingrid ducked with the rest as Thorin stood his ground arrow still drawn. She waited but no arrows fell, Ingrid could hear the arches return their arrows to their quivers. She stood up peaking over the edge as Thranduil spoke,

"We've come to tell you payment of your debt has been offered and accepted." Ingrid was confused by this. Thorin had refused to treat with them, _how can this be. _

"What payment? I gave you nothing. You have nothing." Thorin shot back at them, he still had not lowered the bow at this point. Ingrid feared what would happen if the arrow flew. Thranduil looked to Bard who reached into his coat and pulled a large white jewel that glowed with its own light.

"We have this." The bargeman said. Ingrid's breath caught in her throat, she knew without a doubt that was the arkenstone. The jewel of her people, the heart of the mountain itself. Thorin lowered the bow in shock.

"They have they the arkenstone." Kili said in shock. "Thief's! How have you come by the heirloom of our house?"

"That stone belongs to the King!" Fili yelled down to Bard. Ingrid felt anger boil inside her. _They have no right to the stone._ Bard calmly returned to the arkenstone to his coat and spoke,

"The King may have it, with our good will. But, first he must honor his word." Thorin shook his head and spoke to the company.

"They are taking us for fools. This is a ruse, a filthy lie." He then yelled out to Thranduil and Bard. "The arkenstone is in this mountain! It is a trick!"

"It's no trick." Ingrid looked at Bilbo in shock. "The stone is real. I gave it to them." Ingrid couldn't believe what she was hearing yet at the same time she knew why the hobbit had done it. Bilbo was trying to make Thorin see reason and avoid war. He had given Bard the most powerful bargaining chip he could the one that Thorin would do anything to get back.

"You?" Thorin said in disbelief.

"I took it as my fifteenth share."

"You would steal from me." Ingrid could hear the anger building in Thorin's voice.

"Steal from you no. I may be a burglar but I like to think I'm an honest one. I'm willing to let it stand against my claim." Thorin scoffed at that.

"Against your claim? Your claim, you have no claim over me you miserable rat!" Thorin threw down the bow in rage.

"I wanted to give it to you. Many times but…"

"But what, thief?" Thorin asked in an icy tone.

"You are changed Thorin. The dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word. He never would have doubted the loyalty of his kin!" Ingrid looked at Thorin in surprise at the last statement. _Did he think one of us had taken the stone for ourselves? Was that why Bilbo had warned me to be careful around him?_

"Do not speak to me of loyalty." Thorin paused and then ordered. "Throw him from the ramparts." Ingrid recoiled at the order. She would have followed Thorin to the ends of the world but she could not do this. None of the company moved to obey.

"Did you not hear me?" Thorin yelled. Thorin grabbed Fili pulling him towards Bilbo. Ingrid grabbed a hold of Thorin to pull him off. He slammed a hand into her chest knocking her backwards as Fili pulled out of his uncle's grip. Ingrid stumbled back but Kili caught her keeping her on her feet. Thorin looked to the company who still silently refused to follow his order.

"I'll do it myself." Thorin charged Bilbo grabbing him by the collar. Fili and Kili grabbed ahold of Thorin as he pushed Bilbo against the gate wall. Just when it looked like Bilbo would be tossed over Gandalf appeared demanding the return of his burglar. Thorin seemed to be listening to the wizard for he let Bilbo go. Bofur hurried the hobbit to the side where a rope had been tied up. Thorin swore to never again deal with wizards or hobbits in his life.

"Are we resolved? The return of the arkenstone for what was promised. Give us your answer, will you have peace or war?" Bard asked. Thorin looked towards the eastern hills. _He's stalling. _Ingrid thought, everything hinged on if Dain would come or not. For a moment she thought Thorin would agree and war would be avoided but then a great black raven flew in from the east landing next to Thorin. Ingrid held her breath as Thorin turned to army before him.

"I will have war." Ingrid looked to the east as the sound of metal could be heard rising over the hill and saw an army of dwarves marching over the crest. Dain had answered Thorin's call. The soldiers of the iron hills marched towards the elven army with Dain at the lead riding a massive boar. Ingrid and the company cheered for the arrival of their kin. Dain addressed the army of elves before him as Gandalf tried to make peace between them. From what Ingrid had heard of the Lord of the Iron Hills, he was even more stubborn than Thorin and the odds of him standing down where slim to none. When Dain yelled to Thranduil that he would split the elf king's pretty head open the company cheered.

"He's clearly mad. Like his cousin." Thranduil said. Dain turned to his army and yelled.

"You hear that lads we're on. Let's give these bastards a good hammering." One of the commanders yelled in dwarvish to hammer the elf scum into the ground. The elves moved to form a shield wall with spears out as the dwarves made ready for a charge. Then the earth began to tremble. All the chanting and movement stopped, every eye turned to the distant hills. Ingrid looked up and saw giant worms tear from the ground crushing boulders in their jaws. She had heard the stories of the massive earth eaters but never dreamed to see one let alone three. Then a voice rang out over the battle field from Raven's Hill. Though she did not understand the words she knew the voice, Azog. The pale orc stood atop the ruins of the hill with a massive winged contraption. He yelled out in black speech and a legion of orcs poured from the holes that the earth eaters had made. Ingrid felt her heart stop as Dain turned his army to attack the oncoming orcs.

"I'm going over the wall. Who's with me?" Fili asked, the company cheered and moved to climb down the rope. They would not let Dain face this alone.

"Stand down!" Thorin commanded. They halted in surprise.

"Are we to do nothing?" Fili asked. Thorin continued to move down the steps away from the gate.

"I said stand down." They looked back at the battle field helpless as Dain's forces formed up. _Dain is Thorin's cousin, how can he let him face this alone? _Ingrid grabbed ahold of Fili's hand as the orcs rushed the dwarves, war was upon them now and there was no way for it to be stopped.


	23. Chapter 23

Fili watched as the orc's charged the dwarven ranks. At first it seemed that the elves would do nothing and the dwarves would be slaughtered but at the last moment the elves leaped over the dwarves and joined the fray. The company stood on the gate watching helpless as dwarves, elves, men and orcs collided in a bloody battle. Even with the army of elves now in the fight the orcs still outnumbered them. Azog had planned to unleash this army upon the mountain all along. The company would never have been able to hold the mountain and now Dain and his men were out there dying for them as they hid behind the walls of Erebor. Fili felt Ingrid let go of his hand he looked to see the tears running down her face, she turned and walked away from the gate. He could not blame her and soon the rest of the company began to turn away from the battle, Fili was the last to go. He could not believe that Thorin would forsake their kin to die this way. The dragon sickness had turned the dwarf who had been his teacher, his king, and even in some ways his father into a complete stranger. Fili walked down the steps from the gate as the sounds of death and war raged on. Dain and his men were being slaughtered all because Thorin could not let go of the gold that lay beneath them.

Fili joined the rest of the company who sat just below the gate in silence. Ingrid was sitting near the steps alone, Fili joined her warping his arms around his wife. She pressed her face against his neck as an orc horn sounded from without. The war raged on but it would not be long before the orcs overran all those who stood against them. Dwalin stood and stormed towards the throne room. Fili stayed with Ingrid in his arms savoring the feeling of her against him. _How long can we hide?_ The battle continued and the company remained, they all knew that when the orcs had finished off Dain they would turn to the mountain. The gate would not stop them for long and soon all of Erebor would be overrun with orc's. Fili knew he needed to get Ingrid out of Erebor but even if she went through the hidden door the armies would be swarming around the mountain. Fili also knew she would never leave him or the company to face the orcs without her. It seemed that they would all die cowering behind the walls of Erebor.

The battle continued on when Fili heard the sound of footsteps. He looked up to see Thorin headed towards them with no crown upon his head and a sword in his hand. Fili stood as Kili spoke,

"I will not hide behind a wall of stone while others fight our battles for us!" Kili continued to move towards Thorin. "It is not in my blood, Thorin." Thorin stopped and said something quietly to Kili. Ingrid stood up next to Fili as Thorin walked passed Kili to face the company.

"I have no right to ask this of any of you. But will you follow me, one last time." Fili looked at the dwarf that stood before the company and he saw Thorin Oakenshield. This was the man that he would follow to the ends of the world and beyond. The other members of the company stood drawing their weapons. Thorin smiled at all of them.

"We don't have much time." He said and in a flash they set to work. They began to hoist the giant bell to into position to smash open the gates. Ingrid grabbed ahold of the ropes and pulled with the rest of the company. It took the strength of every dwarf to pull the bell up into position. Bombur climbed the gate with the horn of Durin wrapped around his massive body, once he reached to top of the gates he have three long blast to the horn. Nori sliced the rope that held the bell back. The massive brass bell swung forward at great speed and crashed into the gate. The stones crumbled away forming a new bridge across to the battle field. Thorin led the charge with Fili and Kili right behind him. Ingrid ran beside her husband sword drawn charging along with the company. The ranks of dwarves that stood before them broke apart for Thorin. She heard Dain yell,

"To the king! To the king!" They charged towards the orc lines. Ingrid had never seen so many orcs in all her life but she did not feel afraid. Thorin yelled out,

"For Erebor!" In dwarvish and rallied the dwarves. They smashed into the orc ranks cutting down everything in sight. Ingrid was one with her sword spinning and slicing, smashing into orcs and cutting them down. Though they were outnumbered every dwarf was worth ten orcs. Ingrid continued to hammer down the orc filth with all her strength. This fight was not only to defend Erebor this was to defend her family. She had never fought more fiercely in her life, she had heard that to cross a dwarf mother was certain death but now for the first time ever she felt that ferocity. She heard her name yelled as Fili came towards her on the back of a giant ram. Ingrid sliced another orc down as Fili road past her hand out stretched. She grabbed ahold of his arm pulling herself onto the ram. Ingrid grabbed Fili's sword from his hand and began to duel wield the blades. She cut down ever orc that came within reach of them. Ingrid saw they were headed for Raven Hill and she knew what Thorin meant to do. As they began to climb the slopes Ingrid gave Fili back his sword and sheathed her own. She then pulled the bow off her back and nocked an arrow. As the reached to top of the hill she let her arrows fly. She struck down any orc that she could get a clean shot off at. Fili leapt from the ram to help his brother while Ingrid continued to ride, shooting down everything she could. Soon enough they had cleaned out the orcs that had been in the area. Ingrid dismounted and joined the others. She went to Fili who seemed to be completely fine, _thank Durin_. Ingrid looked around, the ruins were completely silent as if the orcs had fled.

"I think Azog has fled." Kili said with just the hint of joy in his voice. Thorin looked up towards the giant winged contraption that Azog had used to signal his army.

"I don't think so." He whispered, Thorin turned to Fili and spoke. "Fili take your brother and scout the towers. Stay low and out of sight. If you see something report back, do not engage. Do you understand?" Fili and Kili nodded. Thorin then looked to Ingrid.

"Ingrid get up somewhere high and cover us." Ingrid nodded as Dwalin returned.

"We have company. Goblin mercenaries, no more than a hundred." The goblins had started to climb over the walls towards them.

"We'll take care of them. Go." Thorin commanded. Fili and Kili headed for the towers as Ingrid moved towards one of the broken spires, climbing as quickly as she could. She could hear Thorin and Dwalin fighting off the goblins with ease. She made it to the top and set up her quiver looking for any sign of movement in the great watch tower that stood across from her. Ingrid nocked an arrow and waited silently. The sounds of dying goblins faded away and still she saw nothing, no movement at all. Then the low boom of a drum could be heard and lights began to glow in the watch tower. To her horror she saw Azog walking towards the edge of the broken tower with Fili being dragged along beside him. _NO! _The orc held Fili out over the edge and began to speak. Rage engulfed Ingrid, though she did not know what the orc was saying she knew what he meant to do. She knew she only had one chance, she pulled the arrow back to her cheek and took aim. If she missed Fili would die and everything she had dreamed of would crumble into dust. Ingrid drew one deep breath and let the arrow fly, as the Azog drew back his sword hand. The world seemed to slow and all Ingrid could was pray. She watched as the arrow cross over the frozen river and struck its mark straight and true biting deep into the arm that Azog was using to hold Fili. Azog howled in pain and dropped his prize. Ingrid watched as Fili fell towards the ground. He grabbed at the face of the watch tower but could not find a hold. She followed his dissent in horror for the fall would probably be his end now. But just as he cross the last floor of the watch tower Kili appeared and pulled his brother out of the air. Ingrid watched as Kili pulled Fili in to safety and Azog howled in pain and frustration. She pulled another arrow from her quiver shooting at the orcs next to Azog. The pale orc must have seen her then for he yelled something in black speech and an arrow flew past her head. Ingrid ducked out of the way and started to make her way down the spire. She would cut through every orc she had to get to Fili.

Fili gasped as Kili drug him under the cover. _Ingrid_ he thought, Fili had seen the flash of auburn hair when the arrow had struck Azog. It might not have been the best plan but she had saved his life. All Fili had been able to think of once Azog had captured him was of Ingrid and the baby and how they needed to get off of Raven Hill as fast as they could. But, if she had not refused to leave his side he would have been lying dead at the bottom of the cliff.

"Are you alright?" Kili asked shaking Fili. That snapped him out of the daze that had struck him.

"I'm fine, we need to kill every orc we can to give Thorin time to defeat Azog." Fili had seen the number of orc's that Azog still had at his command and knew that it would take everything they had to give Thorin the time he needed. Kili nodded and together they ran to join the fight. Side by side the brothers hammered through the orcs. They moved through the ruins cutting down ever orc they found. As Fili cut down another orc he thought about Ingrid and the baby. They were his reasons to live, to fight, and to keep fighting no matter what. He would kill every orc he could to keep them safe. As Fili and Kili ran down another corridor they heard a voice call out,

"Kili!" It was a high voice a woman's voice. Fili cut off an orc's head as the voice rang out once more calling for Kili. He realized then that it was Tauriel. Kili looked about and yelled back,

"Tauriel!" Before they could move to find the she-elf a massive pale orc with a steel plated head crashed towards them. Fili pushed Kili out of the path of the orcs just in time. The beast swung its mace at them but both Fili and Kili dogged. They moved in and out striking and distracting in turn. The orc smashed Fili across the chest throwing him backward. Kili dove in madly slicing at the orc. The orc grabbed Kili and threw him against the wall. Fili struggled to his feet as the orc grabbed ahold of his brother and pointed the end of his sharpened mace at Kili's heart. Fili didn't have time to think only to act, he grabbed the dagger from his boot and threw it. The dagger caught the orc in its good eye. The beast howled in pain dropping both Kili and his mace. Fili lunged forward at the chance. In one swift movement his sword sliced through the orc's neck. Its massive body crumbled to the ground as its head rolled away. Fili turned to his brother to find Tauriel was already with him his head cradled in her arms. Fili dropped to his knees next to his baby brother. _Please, please Durin no. _Fili looked at Kili's face and saw though his eyes were closed he was breathing. The orc must have only knocked him unconscious. Fili looked to Tauriel.

"Get Kili out of here and somewhere safe." She nodded and gather Kili up in her arms. Fili picked up his brothers sword as well as his own. As he turned to head back into the ruins Tauriel spoke,

"Where are you going? This place will be overrun with orcs in no time." Fili looked back at Tauriel and said,

"I'm going to find my wife."


	24. Chapter 24

Ingrid sliced through the orcs that were surrounding her. She was outnumbered and starting to tier. She had been fighting almost without a moment to breath for who knew how long by this point. Five orcs surrounded her pushing her into a corner, one lunged at her but she dodged and cut off its hand. The beast went howling back, Ingrid had covered as much of the ruins as she had been able to but she still hadn't been able to find Fili or Kili. This gave her some hope because if they were dead she would have run across their bodies, if they were alive they were on the move. One of the orcs laughed at her and snarled out,

"Time to die she-dwarf." Ingrid gritted her death and tightened her grip upon her sword this was not the day she was going to die. Not now not when she had so much to live for. The orcs seemed to be enjoying this taking their time savoring her fear. Just as the orc's were about to attack a voice came roaring out of the ruins.

"Ingrid!" The orcs spun and Ingrid looked up to see Fili charging towards her a sword in each hand. Her heart leapt in her chest at the sight of him. _He's alive!_

"Fili!" She screamed back. Two of the orcs charged Fili why the other two turned back to her. The fight began anew Ingrid dodged and parried the attacks catching one orc across the throat. Black blood sprayed out from where her blade bit into flesh. She turned to fight the oncoming orc but it cracked her across the face. Ingrid felt her lip split open and could taste the blood, the world spun around her violently. Stars danced in front of her eyes as a hand closed around her throat. Ingrid had dropped her sword and could only struggle against the grip. Her nails scrapped and clawed against iron and fresh alike thought the orc did not seem to mind. Her eyes widened as the orc drew the blade back to stab her. Ingrid looked up to the sky one more time to see a massive eagle flying overhead she did not know if it was a dream or real for the edges of her vision had started to fade to black. Real or not it was a good sight to see and just when she thought she would die Fili slammed into the orc. Ingrid collapsed to the ground gasping for air.

"Keep your hands off my wife." He growled at the orc before taking its head clean off. Ingrid coughed violently as Fili rushed to her side falling to his knees and taking her face between his hands. He was covered in blood but appeared to be for the better part alright.

"Are you alright?" Fili begged as he brushed the hair from her face. She had never heard Fili sound so desperate in all her life. Ingrid drew in another ragged breath and smiled at him.

"I knew you would find me." She threw herself into his arms holding him tightly for a moment, and then she remembered.

"Thorin. We have to find him." Ingrid and Fili helped each other to their feet. Both were fighting off the fatigue of battle but the fight was not over yet. They grabbed up their weapons and started to move through the ruins.

"The last I saw of Thorin he was on the river fighting Azog." She told Fili as they raced through the ruins. Ingrid pushed off the exhaustion that was gripping her and ran as hard as she could. There appeared to be no orc's left on Raven Hill, at least none that were living. They ran past the corpse and sprinted down the halls. Fili and Ingrid bolted from the ruins onto the frozen river to see Bilbo kneeling next to someone.

"No." Fili breathed. He dropped his swords and ran. Ingrid followed after him, coming to edge of the frozen falls they saw it was Thorin lying on the ground dying. Fili crashed to his knees next to his uncle taking Thorin's hand in his. Ingrid landed beside Fili looking at the gaping wound in Thorin's stomach. She could smell the blood and bile one look and she knew there was no way he would survive. Thorin looked to Fili with a ragged breath and spoke,

"Fili, you're alive." Fili nodded holding on tightly to his uncles hand. "Fili you need to promise me…"

"Anything." Fili answered without a moment's hesitation. Ingrid felt the tears welling up in her eyes at the sight that lay before her.

"Fili, you are king now." Fili shook his head as if denying it would make it true. "You need to right my wrongs, please." Thorin reached out placing a hand on Fili's face.

"Right my wrongs and value our people above horded gold. Love your wife and child more than the arkenstone and you will be a far greater king then I could have ever been." Fil shook his head.

"No. No Thorin you're going to live. You're going to be alright." Thorin gave Fili a smile and murmured.

"Promise me." Fili pressed his uncle's hand against his brow and chocked out.

"I promise." Ingrid watched helpless as Thorin Oakenshield the King under the Mountain let out his final breath. A small part of her seemed to die with him. She had followed him across the world fought by his side and now he was gone. Fili screamed and grabbed onto his uncle begging pleading for Thorin to come back. Ingrid felt the tears rolling down her face as she reached out a hand to touch Fili's back. Upon her touch Fili looked to her, the tears streaked through the blood that was spattered across his face. Ingrid tried to hold back her sobs as Fili wrapped his arms around her burying his face into her chest. All she could do was hold him tight as grief overwhelmed them. The eagles flew overhead and the battle field turned to silence and the silence said that they had won. Ingrid held onto Fili she knew that right now she needed to be his rock she had to be strong for him. For how long they stayed like that she could not say. A hand touched her lightly on the shoulder she looked up and saw Balin standing over her with tears in his eyes. She looked around to see the rest of the company apart from Kili had come to the top of Raven Hill. _They must have come to fight with Thorin _she thought but they had come too late and now Thorin was gone.

The company all took a knee before their king. Ingrid could see the pain written across their faces and years at shown in their eyes. Fili had let go of Ingrid by then and kneeled before his uncle. Ingrid knew that now he had to take up Thorin's place, he had to become the king he was born to be. After a long moment of silence Fili stood and looked to the company.

"Who will help me carry him down?" Every member stood. Even Bilbo who had stayed quiet all this time stood with the rest. Together the company lifted Thorin onto their shoulders and bore his body down the hill to be laid to rest in Erebor. Ingrid could hear to see the tears that stained the faces of the company though none of them made a sound. They would not dishonor Thorin by showing their sorrow so openly. As they crossed the battle field Dain and his men fell in beside them. There were only a few hundred dwarves that remained of the thousand that Dain had brought from the Iron Hills. They carried Thorin into Erebor and down to the crypts of the kings. There in the large amphitheater like room they laid Thorin to rest beside his forefathers. The atmosphere was quiet and somber. Ingrid took Fili's hand in her as they showed their respect to their king. Then softly a song began to rise from the company the song of the Misty Mountains. Their voice joined as one till the chamber rang to the sound. When the song was done the dwarves began to depart till only the company remained. As they stood before Thorin's tomb Kili joined them with the she-elf helping him walk. He was the last of the company to arrive and Ingrid was glad to see that he was alive. Kili took his place beside his brother in silence. Ingrid could feel the weight of grief coming from the company. The company of Thorin Oakenshield had succeeded in their quest and now their lives would begin anew but without their leader. Soon enough the company began to depart from the tomb as well. The time for grief was passing and now they would celebrate Thorin's life. Fili, Kili, Ingrid and Tauriel were the last to go as they walked away Kili spoke softly,

"I'm glad you were with him in the end." Fili looked at his little brother and smiled.

"Come, Thorin would not want us to morn him like this. He would want us to celebrate his life." Kili smiled at him as the continued to climb out of the tomb and up to the halls of Erebor. From out in the city they could hear the horn of Dale ringing out low and long. The men of Lake Town paid their respect to the King under the Mountain with that one act it was more than what they needed to after what Thorin had done to them. Fili found Dain and the company in one of the great halls of Erebor. There were fires roaring in the hearths food was being brought in from the supplies Dain had brought from the Iron Hills. They were already smiling, laughing and starting to tell stories of Thorin. When Dain saw Fili and Kili he strode over to them and clapped them both on the shoulders.

"So you two lads must be Fili and Kili." He said with a great smile across his face. Neither Fili nor Kili had ever met the Lord of the Iron Hills before but he was family none the less.

"And you must be Iron Foot." Kili said with a smirk. Dain laughed and pulled them into a bone crushing hug. Fili and Kili both managed to pull free with minimal yelping as Ingrid and Tauriel both chuckled behind them. Fili looked to Ingrid offering her his hand.

"Dain may I present to you my wife, Ingrid." Fili said with a smile. Dain looked at her in surprise for a moment.

"I had wondered who this one was but your wife I can hardly believe it." It was Ingrid's turn to be pulled into one of Dain's embraces. "Welcome to the family lass."

"Dain please be careful she is with child." Fili said softly Dain almost dropped Ingrid at that statement and laughed again.

"There's no doubt that you're a son of Durin." Dain said with a roar of laughter as he punched Fili in the shoulder and kissed Ingrid on the cheek congratulating her. It was then that Fili saw Bilbo and Balin slipping away from the crowd. Fili looked to Kili as they followed them out to the gate, the rest of the company joined in as well as, the hobbit turned to leave.

"Tell them yourself." Balin said gently. Bilbo turned and looked back at the dwarves and smiled at them with tears in his eyes.

"If any of you are passing by Bag End…ah… tea is at four. There's plenty of it. You are welcome any time." The company bowed at the offer. Fili knew he would miss Bilbo when he was gone. The hobbit was as much a member of the company as any of them, he had crossed the world with them and fought by their side but his place was in the Shire as theirs was in Erebor.

"Oh and don't bother knocking." Bilbo added with a smile. The company chuckled as Bilbo walked over the wooden bridge that had been built to join Gandalf. Fili wrapped his arm around Ingrid as Bilbo and Gandalf road off into the distance, he kissed her brow and thought of how different Bilbo was now compared to the fretting little hobbit they had met in Bag End. The company returned to the hall where Dain and his men were waiting for them. The rest of the night turned into a blur of celebration. Drinks were flowing and food was plentiful. Everyone laughed and cheered and toasted to Thorin's life. Even the Tauriel seemed to going in the festivities more than what would be expected of an elf. At the end of the night Fili and Ingrid returned to their room and tumbled into bed together. Fili would put his worries aside for the night they would wait for the morning right then he needed to be with his wife.

It was nearly a week after Thorins funeral as Fili and Ingrid woke at dawn. Fili knew what today would bring and could not tell if it was dread he was feeling or just nervousness. Ingrid snuggled against him as he ran his fingers through her hair. She traced a pattern across his chest then spoke softly,

"Are you ready for today?" Fili let out a deep sigh.

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." Ingrid sat up and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Good then it's time to get up." They both got out of bed and proceeded to dress in the best clothes they had. Ingrid pulled on a gown of deep blue edged in gold, the dress was just snug enough that Fili could see the ever growing bump that was her belly. Fili donned the clothes that had been given to him for the ceremony, the cloth was heavy and rich trimmed with furs and embroidered with intricate designs. Once they were both dressed and ready they made their way to the throne room arm in arm.

The rest of the dwarves were already assembled there along with some of the men of Lake Town and even Thranduil and his honor guard had come to watch the new king be crowned. Fili and Ingrid walked together to the throne where Balin and Dain stood with a fresh forged crown in hand. While it was similar to the raven crown on old it was different in its own right. Dain and some of the others had suggested they build a new throne as well but Fili had refused. He wanted to keep the old one, the marks that Smaug had made in the stone would serve as a reminder to him and all future kings of the dangers of greed. Ingrid stepped to the side of the throne as Fili knelt before Balin. Fili had only felt this nervous one other time in his life and that was the day he had wed Ingrid. He swore his vows to protect Erebor and all her people as Balin placed the crown upon his brow. Fili stood and turned to assembly, applause broke out but he held up a hand to silence them.

"We have all survived much and it is now my duty as King under the Mountain to honor the final wishes of Thorin Oakenshield. To the men of Lake Town I offer you this, you may take as much gold as you need to rebuild your lives. I know that this can never replace the lives that were lost in battle but it is a small token from the dwarves of Erebor to you. If ever in the future you are in need of aid never hesitate to call upon us." Fili said in the most commanding voice he could muster. Bard nodded his thanks to Fili.

"And the people of Lake Town will honor our agreement with the King under the Mountain." Bard stepped forward pulling the arkenstone from his coat and presenting it to Fili.

"You do not need to return this to me." Fili whispered softly. The arkenstone may have been the king's jewel but Thorin had betrayed the men of Lake Town.

"A bargain was struck. This is merely our end of the deal." Bard offered the stone to Fili freely. Fili took it from him with a nod of thanks and handed the stone to Balin. His work was not yet finished.

"To King Thranduil I offer up the White Gems of Lasgalen." Kili walked forward with the small chest the gems were held in. Fili had thought it would be best for Kili to return the gems seeing as he was the one now courting an elf maid. "I pray this token begins to rebuild the trust between dwarves and elves." Thranduil took the chest from Kili and inclined his head to Fili.

"And lastly to my kin I offer you this. A place in Erebor for ever and always no dwarf will ever be turned away from these halls. A new day is dawning together we will face it and together we will build a brighter future." Applause rang through the hall along with cheers of long live the king. Fili hoped that Thorin was proud of him. He looked back to Ingrid to see Dain placing a delicate silver crown upon her head. She stepped forward to join Fili who took her hand in his. He smiled at her as their people cheered for them _King Fili and Queen Ingrid_ together the title did not sound so strange. As long as Fili had Ingrid by his side he knew that he would be able to face anything, they had already survived more than most people would dream of in a life time whatever the future held they would be able face it.

**Also little side note I'm turning this story into a comic. There will probably be a few changes from this story along the way who knows but if you want to check it out here's a link to the first page. ** art/The-Journey-to-Erebor-ch-1-pg-1-533941450


	25. Epilogue

It was nearly a year later, Ingrid stood on her toes as she hung the mobile above the cradle. It was a beautiful gift from Bofur, Bombur, and Bifur for the baby. From the main circle hung great eagles wrought from gold with amber eyes that would circle over the cradle protecting her child. She stepped back and admired her work, the baby started to kick, hard and all she could do was laugh. Ingrid rested a hand against the spot where the baby was kicking and smiled, _You're strong just like your father_. The midwives had told her the baby could be arriving as soon as the next week and Ingrid would be glad when that day came. Ingrid looked to the door as it swung open softly. Fili walked in with his crown tucked under his arm. She walked as quickly as she could across the room to embrace him, as her pregnancy had continued the healers had restricted her more and more to the royal apartments which she hated more than anything. She wanted to be out with her people and to be helping Fili in any way she could but the healers and the company had kept an annoyingly close eye on her, and would hurry her back to the apartments if they found her wandering about Erebor. Fili kissed her warmly as he rested a hand against her belly. The baby kicked lightly against its father's hand which made him smile.

"How are you feeling?" Fili asked as he set his crown down.

"The same as I did earlier, ready for this baby to come." Fili smiled at that and took her hands in his.

"There's someone here I want you to meet." Ingrid inclined her head as Fili led her towards the solar. She wondered who it could be. Dwarves had been returning to Erebor and more arrived each day, the first groups had arrived a mere six months after they had retaken the mountain. Some were old men and women returning to their birthplace while others were young families who had never laid eyes on the mountain before. Fili welcomed them all alike, no dwarf was turned away. The more time moved on the more Erebor came to life, the forges had been rebuilt and the mines were being worked again. Trade was flowing from Erebor to Dale which had been all but rebuilt, the days of glory had seemed to be returning to Erebor. When Ingrid and Fili entered the solar there was a woman standing there with long black hair streaked with grey, she wore a simple gown and had a gentle look about her. At first Ingrid did not recognize her but when she met the woman's gaze she knew. Her eyes where the same deep piercing blue as Thorin's though hers' had a softness to them that his never had.

"Lady Dis." Ingrid said with a curtsy. Dis smiled and walked over to Ingrid.

"There's no need to be so formal dear." Dis placed a hand under Ingrid's chin and looked her over.

"Little Ingrid all grown up into a great warrior. I heard you saved my son's life during the battle of the five armies." Ingrid smiled at Dis and replied,

"Yes but he saved mine as well." It was then that Ingrid noticed Kili and Tauriel were in the room as well. Ingrid was glad to see that Dis was still in a pleasant mood after finding out that one of her sons was planning on wedding an elf. Though she could not say she was unhappy about missing that introduction.

"When is the baby due?" Dis asked smiling.

"The midwives say as early as next week." Fili replied with pride. Dis placed a hand on Ingrid's belly and smiled.

"That's wonderful. I'm glad that the rumors I heard on the road are true." Soon enough all of them were talking over supper. Fili and Kili told their mother of their adventures on the road and Dis would proceed to scold them for taking unnecessary risks. This would make Ingrid chuckle, even if Fili was King he was still her son and she would scold him as needed. Dis also made polite conversation with Tauriel as well and by the end of the night it seemed that Dis had no qualms with the elf at all. Ingrid could tell that that made Fili happy as well as Kili. Tauriel had been adjusting to life among the dwarves well enough and those that had gotten to know her could see nothing wrong with the warrior maid. It might have also helped that Thranduil had banished her but that was just rumor. It was close to midnight when Dis returned to her room and Ingrid and Fili crawled into their own bed thoroughly exhausted.

"Do you think my family will reach Erebor soon?" Ingrid asked as Fili cuddled up against her back wrapping his arm around her protectively.

"I'm sure they will be here soon. It's a long journey from the Blue Mountains but I'm sure they are fine." Ingrid gave Fili's hand a squeeze before drifting off to sleep. Several more days passed and Ingrid sat in the solar readying a tomb on the great dwarf heroes of the second age when there was a knock on the door. She set the tomb down and pushed herself out of the chair.

"Yes?" She called, the door opened and a young dwarf came in.

"My lady, your family has just arrived would you like me to send them up?" Ingrid's heart leapt in her chest.

"Yes at once." The dwarf bowed and slipped from the room. Ingrid could hardly believe it, her family had finally made it to Erebor. Her heart began to race as she thought about them. It had been nearly two years since she had last seen them and could hardly contain her joy. It wasn't long before the door to the solar opened and in streamed her family. Ingrid felt the tears welling up in her eyes at the sight on them. Ingeborg looked as beautiful as ever, Ingvildr had a sword on her hip and her fire red curls stuck out every which way unkempt, and Inga had grown nearly a foot since Ingrid had last seen her. Her sisters rushed her embracing her, Ingrid returned to embrace kissing each in turn as tears of joy rolled down her face. Her mother, Siv embraced her next laughing as tears rolled down her face as well. Lastly came her father Ingemar, he smiled at Ingrid, pride shining in his eyes.

"My brave warrior." He said as Ingrid embraced him. She had missed him more than she could put into words. The pride that shown in her father's eyes told her that everything had been worth this moment. After Ingrid had finished greeting each of them they attacked her with a flurry of questions. All Ingrid could do was laugh and try to answer them as best she could. Ingeborg pestered her for details about Fili, Ingvildr asked about her adventures, and Inga wanted to know when the baby would be born, all while Siv fretted over Ingrid.

"Enough." Ingemar said in a booming voice. "Ingrid will have plenty of time to speak with all of you. Right now I need to meet this boy." Ingrid looked at her father in surprise.

"Papa, Fili is your King." Ingemar scoffed.

"King or not, he still married my daughter without permission." Ingrid rolled her eyes.

"There wasn't exactly time for that." But, Ingemar would not be moved on the point. Ingrid managed to persuade him to wait until supper to speak with Fili. He was the king after all and had many duties to attend to. She spent the rest of the day with her family catching up on the events of the last two years. Ingrid told them about the journey to Erebor and everything that they had faced along the way. They told her of what had happened in the Blue Mountains while she had been away which didn't amount to much and of their journey to the mountain which had been far calmer than Ingrid's had. It was wonderful to be with her family again. They laughed and talked till it was nearly time for supper. Ingrid excused herself returning to her and Fili's bedroom. As she had suspected he had just returned and was placing his crown down on the dresser. He looked even more exhausted than usually.

"Did you have a long day my king?" Ingrid prompted softly. Fili looked at her and smiled, he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.

"You could say that." He murmured against her hair. Ingrid pulled away from him and smiled.

"Well the day is about to get a little longer. My family arrived." Fili looked a little surprised at the news.

"And my father wants to see you." Fili chuckled.

"Should I bring Dwalin up as my body guard?" Ingrid laughed.

"Don't worry I'll keep him in line." Fili gave her a light peck on the lips before following her back up to the solar. When they walked in the room her sisters stopped chattering and Ingemar stood. Though he needed a cane to walk Ingemar was still an intimating figure. He stood of a height with Fili but was broader in the shoulders and chest. The look on his face was stern to say the least.

"So you're the one who married my daughter." Ingemar said in a low grumbling voice. Fili seemed to stand a little straighter as he faced Ingemar.

"Yes sir I am." Ingemar gave Fili a hard once over then smiled.

"Well I dare say my daughter could have done much worse than you." The tension broke and her sisters pounced. Ingrid laughed as it was Fili's turn to be attacked with questions. They spent the rest of the night with her family and by the end of it Fili was as much part of them as he could have been. Ingrid could not remember the last time she had felt so happy, her family was with her again and now Erebor truly was her home.

A week had come and gone and Ingrid's family had settled into life in Erebor. Though to her dismay her pregnancy continued, Ingrid had gone so far as to ask her mother for advice on old wives tales that were said to induce child birth. The one she had taken to best was the long hot baths. Ingrid sat soaking in the bath which was filled to the brim with hot water and just relaxed. She had to admit that she loved the private bath that was adjoined to the royal apartments. It was fed by a hot spring so there was always plenty of fresh water ready to go at a moment's notice. The massive stone pool was large enough to hold a least five comfortably. The door to the bath opened with a squeak, Ingrid looked up to see Fili walk in wearing a long bath robe.

"I thought I would find you here." He said as he pulled off his robe and slipped into the water with Ingrid. Fili sat down next to her and started to rub her aching back. Ingrid would be glad when the baby was born though she knew that that brought with it a whole new set of challenges. Ingrid leaned against Fili's chest and savored the moment. It seemed that they had had hardly any time together between Dis and Ingrid's family arriving and all the other pressures that were on Fili when it came to ruling. They stayed like that for a long time just enjoying each other's company. Eventually Ingrid did have to get out of the bath or she would never be able to for the hot water had turned to limbs limp. She climbed out of the bath and slipped back on her robe.

"Are you coming?" Ingrid asked but Fili shook his head. She smiled glad to see that he was taking some time to himself, Durin knew he needed it. Ingrid knew how much he worried about her and the baby. She could only imagine how distracted he was during the day while she was kept cooped up in the royal apartments. Ingrid returned to their room and sat in front of the mirror and began to brush out her hair. The motion was soothing and the midwives told her she needed to stay as relaxed and calm as possible. That was also their main reason for keeping her hidden away from the stresses of ruling. Ingrid had almost finished brushing out her hair when a sudden pain struck her. It was sharp and lasted nearly a minute, she grabbed at her belly as the pain peaked then faded. _Could it be? _She let the pain go and continued to brush out her hair, Ingrid did not want to raise alarm only to find out that there was nothing to worry about. Then another bought of pain struck her just like the first. Ingrid managed to get to her feet and head back towards the bath. Just as she reached the bath door another wave of pain hit her, this one was harder than the first two and she knew without a doubt the baby was coming. She pushed open the door to see Fili still lounging in the bath.

"Fili!" She all but shouted, Fili sat up looking at her wide eyed.

"Ingrid what's wrong?" Another wave hit her and she doubled over, at that Fili was out of the bath and pulling on his robe.

"The baby is coming." Ingrid said threw gritted teeth. Fili felt a moment of panic before he ran to Ingrid's side. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the room that had been prepared for this moment. It wasn't far but all the way he whispered words of encouragement to Ingrid.

"Just shut up and get me there." She growled as Fili hurried along. He couldn't help but smile at the outburst. Dis had warned him of what Ingrid might say when she went into labor. She had told him how she had cursed his father the entire time she gave birth to him. Fili kicked open the door to the room that was connected to the birthing room. One of the midwives was sitting there sewing when he burst in.

"It's time." He said and she flew from her chair. Fili set Ingrid down gently as the mid-wife rushed to her.

"How long has it been since the pain started?"

"Not long." Ingrid groaned as she doubled over again. The mid wife ushered Ingrid into the next room leaving Fili to stand there alone. He couldn't think he couldn't move, he had been preparing for this moment for weeks now but now that it was here he was stunned. A moment later three more midwives came rushing into the room. One stopped to speak with Fili, she was an old woman with a weather worn face and a thick gray beard but there was a kindness about her as well.

"My king you must remain out here while your wife gives birth. Who would you like me to send for to keep you company while you wait?" It took Fili a moment to gather his thoughts.

"My brother and mother. Tell Ingrid's family as well and the members of the company, they'll want to know." She nodded and left the room. Fili began to pace around the room, nerves twisted his stomach into a thousand knots. He had to admit that part of him was afraid, he knew the dangers that every woman faced in child birth. He knew that he might lose Ingrid or the baby or Durin forbid both of them. Fili continued to pace the rooming sitting for only a moment at a time before pacing again. He felt completely useless. It wasn't long before Kili came bursting through the door.

"Is it really true? Is Ingrid going to have the baby?" Fili nodded as Kili embraced him roughly laughing all the while.

"Kili, leave your brother be." Dis said in a scolding tone. Kili let go of Fili as Dis walked over to her sons. She placed a hand on Fili's cheek and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Ingrid is stronger than most that enter child birth. She will be fine." Fili was grateful her words of comfort but he couldn't shake the nerves that had hold of him. He continued to pace as time ticked on. Ingrid's family soon arrived as well congratulating him and joining in the tortuous waiting. Fili began to fret even worse wondering if it was taking too long or if everything was going alright. Hours began to slip past and members of the company joined Fili to wait. He was glad to have them there even if the room was becoming quiet crowded at that point. Then Fili heard Ingrid scream it felt like a dagger ramping into his heart, he bolted towards the door, Dis yelled,

"Stop him!" Dwalin and Glóin blocked Fili's path.

"Let me through." He growled at them as Ingrid screamed again. Glóin put a hand on Fili's shoulder.

"Relax lad, this is part of what happens." Dis took a hold of his arm.

"It means that it's almost time." She said in a calm voice.

"Don't worry lad and she's going to be fine. Plus she's nothing compared to how loud Helga was when she gave birth to Gimli. I swear you could hear her in the misty mountains." Glóin reassured him. Balin smiled at Fili and said,

"She'll be fine." Fili looked at the door once more considering running over all of them but thought better of it. He knew they would tackle him to the ground if that's what it took to stop him. It was almost another hour of listening to Ingrid scream before he heard it. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life, the sound of a babe crying. He held his breath as the door to the birthing room opened and a mid-wife came out smiling at Fili.

"Your highness, your wife is waiting for you." She gestured Fili towards the door. He felt stunned as he moved towards the room. Once he entered he heard to door swing shut behind him. The other mid-wives had already left and Fili saw Ingrid lying in the bed propped up against a mountain of pillows with a small bundle wrapped in a deep blue blanket in her arms. She looked exhausted, her hair stuck to her sweat covered face but he had never seen her look more beautiful. She smiled up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Fili, come meet our son." She said in a hoarse voice. _A son._ Fili crossed the room in a daze and as he approached the bed Ingrid held out the bundle to him. He looked down to see his son looking back at him. The babe had deep emerald green eyes and a tuft of golden hair. Fili took the baby gently in his arms. He was so small, so fragile and Fili had never felt prouder in his life.

"He's beautiful." Fili whispered as he gently ran a finger across his son's cheek. The baby yawned at his touch and reached out his tiny hand grabbing onto Fili's finger. Fili could feel how strong he was a smiled. _I'm a father._ He sat down next to Ingrid and leaned over to kiss her.

"I love you." He whispered to her as their son began to fuss. Ingrid gently took him from Fili's arms and began to nurse him. All Fili could do was stare in wonderment at his wife and son. _I'm a father._ Once their son had drunk his fill Fili went to go tell the others the good news. When he entered the room they all stared at him waiting for the news.

"It's a boy. We have a son." He told everyone. At the news they all jumped up whooping and cheering. Kili nearly tackled Fili shouting how he was an uncle. Fili lead them all back into the room to meet the new prince. Inga was one of the first into the room. She sprint through the door jumping up onto the bed with Ingrid to look at her nephew. The others followed in smiling and congratulating Ingrid. Fili could see the pride on all their faces, he knew that they all viewed Ingrid as a sister or daughter after all they had been through. Some of the company even seemed to get a little misty eyed at the sight of Ingrid with the baby in her arms. Once everyone had gotten a look at the little prince Dis asked,

"Well does my grandson have a name?" Fili sat next to Ingrid and smiled. Ingrid looked to the rest of them. All around them stood their family by blood or not it did not matter.

"Thorin, his name is Thorin." It was later that night when Fili and Ingrid both woke to the sound of Thorin crying. Fili moved to get out of bed.

"I'll get him." He said in a still groggy voice. Fili lit a candle and lifted Thorin from the cradle. He rocked him gently in his arms and began to hum a lullaby. Fili looked back at Ingrid who was leaning on one arm looking over at them. Fili moved back to the bed sitting down next to her. She ran a finger along Thorin's cheek as he began to quiet. Soon enough he had fallen back asleep much to Fili's relief. It had been the third time that night that Thorin had woke. He could understand now why in the past King's had left their babes in the care of wet nurses and nannies but he and Ingrid would have none of that. Ingrid rested a hand against his knee and smiled. Fili looked from their son to her and everything felt complete. This was his world, this was all he would ever need and in his heart he knew that out there all the loved ones he had lost were smiling down at them.

**Wow I can't believe its done. I think this is the fastest I've ever written a story. This story may still have some tweaking done to it every now and then and the part that takes place during BoFA may be subject to change when the extended edition comes out. Thank you to all the readers out there who stuck with through this :) Also I'm currently working on turning this story into a comic feel free to check it out on my deviant art page, my deviant name is DianaStargaze22,** **if anyone wants to do fan art for this story I welcome it, leave me a link and I'd be more than happy to check it out. Well I hope you've enjoyed the Journey to Erebor, leave me a review saying what you thought of it.**


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